


Blood Covered Path

by theoddkid



Category: Ghost Hunt, IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: And Re;vale, And ZOOL a little bit, Created for Halloween, Ghosts, Horror, It's basically IDOLiSH7 in the Ghost Hunt universe, M/M, Mystery, So are TRIGGER, The managers are there too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2020-12-09 08:45:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 47,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20992013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theoddkid/pseuds/theoddkid
Summary: A new hotel just opened up and IDOLiSH7 were invited to the opening week event. Well there, strange things start happening, people go missing and the horrifying truth about what happened there in the past comes to light.This is basically based on the case "Bloodstained Labyrinth" from the Ghost Hunt series, but replacing the guys from SPR with IDOLiSH7, except they're not ghost hunters, they're still idols.





	1. Prologue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This is theoddkid, and I am once again back with a new i7 fanfic! This one is written for halloween, though I'll be posting it before and, most likely, after as well... If you didn't read it already, this work is sort of a crossover between IDOLiSH7 and the light novel/manga/anime Ghost Hunt! The story is inspired by the case titled "Bloodstained Labyrinth" in the Ghost Hunt series, and if your interested in checking out this case in that story, (if you haven't already) it's volume 6+7 in the manga or episodes 18-21 in the anime!  
DISCLAIMER: I obviously don't own either of these two works, all credit goes to the original creators of IDOLiSH7 and Ghost Hunt, as well as their respective story lines and characters.  
The story isn't exactly the same as it is in Ghost Hunt, I had to change a few things to fit the setting and i7 cast better. Some of the minor characters from the GH series appear here too, but none of the mayor characters do. I've also created some OCs for plot purposes.  
You might have also noticed that this is tagged as an Ioriku fanfic, but even so this fanfic isn't mainly about their relationship. It's there because I love them and can't help myself, but their relationship is not the main plot of this fanfic. I'd also like to make it clear that the two of them are already dating as of the start of this fanfic.  
This is just the prologue and I will post the first proper chapter tomorrow, so you won't have to wait long! After that, I plan to post 3 chapters a week, one every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday! With that said, I hope you enjoy this new story!

“We’ve been invited as performing artists at the grand opening of a new hotel?!”

Mitsuki exclaimed in shock as he and the rest of the IDOLiSH7 members stared at their manager who was smiling brightly at them. “Yes! We were contacted by the owner last night! They’ve invited some higher-class guests to stay at the hotel for a week before it opens up for the public, and they want IDOLiSH7 to be part of the entertainment for their guests, so we’ve also been invited to stay the week.” Tsumugi explained happily. 

The boys all looked at each other with happy and excited expressions, Tamaki and Nagi high fived, Sougo, Yamato and Mitsuki smiled at each other and Riku grabbed onto Iori’s arm and gave him the brightest smile the younger man had seen in a while. Iori blushed and promptly looked away. 

Iori cleared his throat to hide his embarrassment, then turned to Tsumugi with a more serious expression. “This is great news, performing at this hotel in front of this type of people will definitely be advantageous to us, but I can’t help but think that it’s a bit strange.” He said, looking thoughtful. 

Tsumugi looked at Iori questioningly while Riku detached himself from Iori’s side with a confused expression. “Why is it strange, Iori?” The redhead asked. Tsumugi nodded. “Yes, I don’t think it’s that strange, you boys are fantastic and so hardworking as well! Surely, they understand this and invited you?” She said. 

Iori sighed. “The audience is wrong. Didn’t you say that the hotel owner had invited a bunch of high-class guests? I’m guessing a lot of them are businesspeople, people who work within marketing, law, healthcare or politics. Not exactly our usual fanbase, right?” The raven-haired boy explained. 

“Ichi’s right, when you think about it like that, it really is a bit strange.” Yamato said, and the others nodded. “Strange or not, you’ve still been invited, and we’ve accepted. It’s an opportunity and I’m sure you boys will make the best of it, even if it’s not your usual audience.” Someone said from behind them. 

The group turned around only to see Ogami Banri standing at the other end of the room. “Ah, Ogami-san!” Tsumugi exclaimed as the older man entered the room. “Besides,” Banri started as he walked across the room to join the rest. “I’ve heard that the owner’s daughter is a big fan of idols in general, so that’s probably why we’ve been invited. I’ve also heard that we’re not the only idols that will be attending the opening week.” He explained. 

Hearing this, Riku in particular perked up. “Really? Which other idols will be there?” He asked. Iori sighed, knowing exactly why the redhead seemed so interested in this. Banri simply smiled understandingly before giving Riku an answer. “Both TRIGGER and Re;vale will be there, and I believe ZOOL has been invited as well, though it seems they haven’t decided whether to attend or not yet.” He said. 

Riku smiled brightly hearing this. “So Tenn-nii will be there too? I’m even more excited now!” He exclaimed happily. Iori reached out and grabbed Riku’s shoulders, giving him a serious look. “Just remember that we’re all going there for work, be sure to act professional, especially around him. We can’t let the media find out about your relations to one another.” He reminded the older. 

Riku pouted. “I know that already! Geeze, you don’t have to remind me, I won’t do something to expose us.” He said in a whiny tone. Iori sighed but nodded, content with Riku’s answer. 

“That being said,” Banri started talking again. “There are a few other artists as well, a female idol group, a few solo artists, some more traditional bands and even some comedians!” He explained. “Wow, that’s quite the line-up!” Mitsuki exclaimed. “It sure is! The owner wants to make sure his guests are entertained during this first week, it’s very important for the future of the hotel.” Banri said. 

“I wonder why he choose to build a hotel all the way in the outskirts of Tokyo, there’s not much to do around that area, and besides, there is already an inn nearby, so there wasn’t really a demand for a hotel there.” Tsumugi wondered aloud. 

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of chances to ask the owner about his intentions during the opening week. But I agree, it is a bit peculiar.” Banri said with a thoughtful smile on his face. “It’s still a month until then, we’ll discuss this more at a later occasion, we’ll have to take some time to think about songs, costumes and the like. For now, you’re all dismissed.” Banri said. 

“Yes!” All of IDOLiSH7 exclaimed as they then went on with their respective work for the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was really short, but it was just the prologue. I'll be back tomorrow with the first proper chapter, so stay tuned for that! Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! If you haven't already, maybe check out my previous works? Kudos and comments are much appreciated! 'Til next time! <3<3


	2. Day 1, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The time for the opening week at the new hotel to start has arrived! However, upon enetering the building, Riku is overcome with a bad feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! ^^  
I'm here with the first proper chapter of this fanfic, and I hope you all will like it! I was pleasantly surprised to see how excited people seem to be for this, it really made me feel so happy and so much more motivated to do this! Thank you so much! <3 If any of you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can either find me on Twitter: @EFagerhag or on Tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

“Woah! That’s huge!” Riku and Tamaki exclaimed in unison as soon as the giant mansion that had recently been converted into a hotel came into sight. “Proper hotels tend to be quite big, but I have to say, this really is of an impressive size.” Sougo said in a slightly wonderous tone.

“The surrounding area is very beautiful as well! It seems really calm and relaxing with the forest surrounding it. Even though central Tokyo isn’t that far away, this truly feels like a different world!” Tsumugi exclaimed as she walked up to them. She and Banri were supposed to stay at the hotel for the duration of the opening week to support their idols. 

One month had passed in the blink of an eye, and before they knew it, it was time to make the short trip to the hotel in order to participate in it’s opening week. 

In the distance, they could see some familiar faces. Riku had immediately brightened up and tried to run off toward a certain someone, only to be held back by Iori who just gave him a deadpan look. Riku pouted at the younger man but stayed put. 

The group once again changed their focus back to the ginormous mansion before them. It was built in a traditional European style and had at least three floors, four in a few locations. From the front, the shape of the house seemed fairly normal, it was split into two wings that crated a U shape. However, when you looked closely, the mansion continued to stretch out very far in the back, and it was all built in a very complicated design, making it difficult to determine just which parts of the house were connected to each other. 

Everyone in IDOLiSH7 stared in awe at the impressive building. “Still, it’s a bit hard to believe that you can find a building like this in Japan, it’s even more surprising that it’s located this close to Tokyo!” Mitsuki exclaimed, catching the others’ attention as he was the first to say anything in a while. 

“The building appears to be quite old, I heard that before this it even stood empty for a few decades. The current owner only started using it again about two years ago, and he’s been spending all his time touching it up so that he could start his business here properly.” Banri explained with a smile on his face. “Hmm, there might be some interesting history here then, like why it was abandoned in the first place…” Yamato said. 

Banri nodded. “Indeed, I don’t know who the previous owners were, or when exactly it was built, but I’m sure it’d be an interesting story.” He said. Riku’s face lit up in excitement upon hearing that. “Maybe we’ll find out during our stay! I’m getting kind of curious about it!” He exclaimed, his eyes glimmering with all the expectations he had. 

Soon, Tsumugi could see the front door opening and turned to the rest. “It seems it’s about to start now! Make sure to stay together, okay?” She said and was content when everyone gave her reassuring nods and smiles. They all moved to stand a bit closer to each other as they turned to look at the man who had just come out of the mansion. 

The man stood on the stairs in front of the main entrance and faced all the guests that were stood on the driveway in front of the hotel. There had to be over a hundred people present for opening week, about half of them were middle-aged men wearing fancy suits, but the rest of the guests seemed to be quite diverse in age and social standing. The man in the front looked like he was in his late forties, he was quite tall, had dark gray hair that was combed back and wore a brown suit. 

He soon picked up a microphone and tapped it a few times to see if it worked, the tapping could be heard even from the other end of the driveway, so it obviously did. He then brought it up and held it in front of his face, and then he started talking. 

“Well then, I guess it’s about time we get started.” He started off by whispering, then he cleared his throat before speaking up. “Everyone, thank you so much for coming here today! My name is Ohashi and I am the owner of this establishment. I wish to welcome you all to enjoy your stay here at my newly opened hotel, I am truly glad to see that so many of you have chosen to partake in this opening week!” The man, Ohashi-san, exclaimed, after which the guests proceeded to give an applause to the man in question. 

“Now then,” Ohashi-san started. “Those of you who came here purely as guests, and that also includes all of my business partners, if you would please be so kind as to follow Suzuki-san here,” He said and gestured to a slightly older looking woman who bore a kind looking smile and was clad in a classic maid’s uniform. “And go inside, she will give you a tour of the hotel and finish by taking you all to your respective rooms. Later tonight, around seven, there will be dinner served in the restaurant, and I hope to see all of you there.” He said before he made a short pause. 

Ohashi-san soon cleared his throat again before he kept talking. “Those of you who have been asked to perform some sort of work during your stay, I ask that you please follow me into one of the parlors of the hotel before you move onto the tour and get shown to your rooms. Thank you very much.” Ohashi-san finished. Once again there was a round of applause before the crowd split into two groups, the bigger group walked over to the lady, Suzuki-san, while around 40 people started walking towards the entrance of the hotel in order to follow Ohashi-san into the designated parlor. 

IDOLiSH7 was, obviously, part of the latter. As they all walked towards the house, Riku looked around, his eyes searching the crowd to see if he could find his brother amongst this sea of people. When he failed to do so, he sighed, only to realize that they had already reached the staircase that would lead them to the entrance. His mind immediately forgot the disappointment of not finding his beloved Tenn-nii in the crowd and replaced it with excitement and wonder about what the inside of this impressive building could possibly look like. 

However, his feelings of excitement didn’t last very long. The moment he took his first step inside of the house, his entire body stiffened, and he could feel a shiver travel down his spine. Riku suddenly felt like he was being watched from all angles, and a slightly disturbing smell filled his nose. He stopped in his tracks and looked around with a slightly shaken expression on his face, trying to spot the source of his distressing feeling, but he found nothing. 

“Nanase-san?” Riku was soon pulled out of his stupor by a concerned voice and a gentle grip on his left shoulder. He turned around and met Iori’s worried gaze. “Iori…?” He questioned. “Is something wrong? You were spacing out.” Iori said. 

Riku’s face flushed red as he realized he had been caught in his previous state. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. “Was I really that spaced out? Sorry, I didn’t notice! It’s nothing really, I was just thinking about that strange smell, what do you think it is?” He asked the younger. 

Iori raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Strange smell? I don’t find this place to be especially smelly? If anything, I think it has a rather pleasant and relaxing scent.” Iori started, but then, just a few seconds later, his expression turned troubled. “Wait, is the scent bothering you? Is your condition acting up because of it? If it is, I’m sure there’s someone we could talk to and do something about it.” He said worriedly. 

Riku’s eyes widened as he realized what Iori had assumed he had meant when he complained about the smell. He quickly shook his head and gave Iori the biggest smile he could muster. “No, it’s not like that at all! I wouldn’t say I’m bothered by it, I just found it a bit strange is all! I think I’m already getting used to it, the smell is not nearly as strong now as when we first entered. Thank you for worrying though.” He explained. 

Iori’s face flushed bright red and he looked away. “If you’re fine, then that’s great. It’d be troublesome if you had an attack first thing after we got here, after all.” He said before he started walking in the direction the rest of the group had gone. Their little stop had made it so that Riku and Iori were now at the very back of the group and they had completely lost sight of the rest of IDOLiSH7. “Come on, we don’t want to lose the rest.” Iori said. 

Riku nodded and followed after Iori happily. A few seconds later, while they were still walking, Iori turned to look at Riku again. “What was it about the smell that you found so strange anyway? I didn’t notice anything odd…” He asked curiously. 

Riku put a finger to his chin and thought for a minute before giving Iori an answer. “Well, I guess it was kind of metallic? Sort of like…” He started, but then he trailed off as he realized what it was he had smelled. “Sort of like what?” Iori asked, since Riku got quiet all of a sudden. 

Riku started waving his hands in front of himself sheepishly as he gave Iori an awkward smile. “It’s nothing, don’t mind it! It must have been my imagination, after all, it disappeared really quickly!” He said before he started speeding up. “Come on! Weren’t you the one who said we shouldn’t lose the rest?” He exclaimed as Iori too sped up to join the group again. 

Riku sighed in relief when Iori didn’t push further, he didn’t want to alarm him after all. It had probably just been his imagination! He must be nervous, and that’s why he felt like he did after entering the hotel. At least, he hoped that was all it was, after all, that smell he had noticed upon entering had undoubtedly been the smell of blood… 

Riku quickly shook his head and decided to forget about it for now, and soon, he and Iori had reached an open door that the others in front of them were entering, thus, they assumed they had reached their destination. They entered the room, which undoubtedly was a parlor, and looked around to try and find the rest of their groupmates since they had gotten separated earlier. 

“Iori! Riku!” They soon heard someone call out, they turned around and could see Mitsuki standing a few meters away and waving for them to come over. They both gladly walked over to where he was and saw that the rest of IDOLiSH7 along with their managers were all there. And not only that, to the side, they could also see Re;vale with their manager, Okazaki, as well as TRIGGER with Anesagi. Riku smiled and waved, getting some silent greetings in return. 

Around the room, people were chatting with each other while Ohashi-san was getting ready to start talking. While waiting, Riku decided to have a look around the room. Most people there, he didn’t recognize, but there were a few people there from the entertainment world that he had met before, or at least knew of. 

Then, all of a sudden, Riku’s gaze met a familiar one. The redhead blinked a couple of times before he smiled brightly and waved at the person that was stood across the room. A slightly taken aback Inumaru Touma waved back and gave Riku a more awkward smile in return. He was stood there with the other members of ZOOL, meaning they had ended up coming to the event after all, however, it seemed as if they were there alone, without a manager or anything to help them. 

It was then that Ohashi-san cleared his throat, effectively gaining the attention of everyone in the room. “Well then, now that we’re all gathered here, I’d once again like to say welcome, and I hope you will enjoy your stay here at my hotel. I invited all of you both as guests and because you have some sort of work to do here, it might be related to entertainment or advertising, but I wish you all the best of luck. I will have someone deliver more precise directions on what to do later this afternoon after you’ve been shown to your rooms.” He said. 

Ohashi-san then turned around and seemed to be fiddling with some papers, and while he did that, Tsumugi and Banri were discussing about their possible upcoming schedule. Soon, Ohashi-san had turned back around to face the microphone once more. “If I could get all of your attention again…” He started off by saying, making everyone in the room stop talking and look his way expectantly. 

Ohashi-san smiled and started talking. “Before you get on with the tour, I’d like to tell you a little bit about my hotel. The building was originally built by my second wife’s great grandfather, Miyama Kaneyuki-sama and the original construction was finished in the year 1877. However, the original house was much, much smaller than it is now, and there were also multiple different buildings on this lot. You see, it was my wife’s grandfather that was very adamant about adding a little bit more to the house for every year that passed, as well as to later connect the different buildings. Because he kept adding things, the building’s design is quite interesting, there are doors that lead nowhere, windows into other rooms, dead ends, twists and turns that don’t quite makes sense. It really is a quite fascinating building.” 

“Isn’t that just inconvenient?” Tamaki whispered. Upon hearing this, Sougo elbowed him in the ribs. “Tamaki-kun! Don’t say that, what if Ohashi-san heard you and got offended? He could kick us out!” He whispered back, a worried look on his face. Tamaki winced and pouted. “…I’m sorry, I’m just saying, don’t mind me if I’m late to something, I can already feel myself getting lost in here…” He said. 

“We’ll just have to make sure to go together then.” Yamato said, earning smiles of agreement from the other members. It was then that Ohashi-san kept talking. “Other than being used as the home of the Miyama family, parts of this building has also served as a silk-spinning factory, an orphanage and a charity hospital.” He explained. 

“Ohh…” All of IDOLiSH7 turned around upon hearing that sound and what they were met with was an amazed looking Banri. “That’s quite unexpected, but interesting nonetheless. Didn’t I say this place might have some fascinating history to it?” He asked, adding a wink at the end. Riku smiled at their older manager. “You’re right! It’s really interesting!” He exclaimed. 

Ohashi-san continued with his explanation. “It was 40 years after the original construction was finished, in 1907, that my wife’s great grandfather and the final owner of this building, had to close down his business. It was all due to financial problems. Three years later, he sadly passed away due to an illness, and ever since his death, this building has been standing empty.” He finished. 

The room was dead silent, speaking about the previous owner’s demise had set a rather sinister mood. Riku could notice Tamaki grabbing onto Sougo’s arm for support, their youngest member really didn’t like scary things after all. 

Ohashi-san coughed a few times, thus breaking the silence and returning the mood in the room to its previous state. “It was first after I remarried Miyama Kaneyuki-sama’s great granddaughter seven years after my first marriage ended rather badly that I learned about the existence of this building. I asked why it had been standing here empty for over a century now and I was told it was because my wife’s grandfather had asked that the building would be left alone after his father died. I saw potential in this place and after a few conversations, I managed to convince the others to let me try and make my vision a reality!” He exclaimed proudly. 

“And that brings us to our current situation! My hotel is finally ready to be opened to the public and I could not be more excited. My wife and daughter will be joining us tomorrow, and I hope you will all help make this opening week as great as it possibly can be!” Ohashi-san finished. His statement was followed by a round of applause from everyone present in the room, they all seemed rather impressed by Ohashi-san’s valiant efforts. 

However, Riku couldn’t shake the feeling of dread since before. He had questions, like why did the son of the last owner not want anyone to live in this house after his passing? Why did it take so long for someone to want to use it again? How come someone with enough money to build a mansion of this size and still do charity work got ruined like that? What sort of big expanses must they have had? 

Riku wasn’t exactly sure why, but he had a feeling that there was something important about whatever transpired here in the past that they should know of, something that had been missed in the previous explanation. He tried to write it off as lingering paranoia after what had happened upon entering the house and once again turned to look at Ohashi-san who had picked up the microphone again. 

“I have arranged for some of my workers to show you around the building while taking you to your rooms. Please excuse me while I take care of some business, and I will see you all at dinner tonight.” He said before he took his leave. 

One by one, the different groups of people were being called by different workers and started leaving the room. Soon, ZOOL was called and Riku waved to Touma as he left. A few seconds later, someone called for Re;vale and thus, Momo and Yuki took their leave, Okazaki in tow, proclaiming that they would meet again that evening at dinner. 

Then, someone finally called out for them. “IDOLiSH7! I am to take IDOLiSH7 to their rooms!” Tsumugi walked up to them, smiling. “Yes, thank you very much! We are IDOLiSH7 of Takanashi Productions, we’ll be in your care this coming week.” She greeted them. 

“Well then, if you would please follow me, and do try to stay close, until you learn your way around this building, it can be a bit difficult to find your way.” The worker said. Tsumugi nodded and then they all started slowly leaving the parlor, waving goodbye to TRIGGER as they left. Riku took one last look at his brother, who, despite still being surrounded by people, gave Riku a tiny smile. 

Riku was really happy as he turned around to follow the rest of his groupmates out of the room and through the many corridors of the hotel. His previous bad feelings about the place momentarily forgotten as he happily walked up to Iori and started chatting away. Little did he know, that his worries from earlier were much more significant than he ever could have imagined.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the first chapter! What did you think? Are you excited to see where it goes from here? I'll be back with the next chapter on Wednesday, so look forward to that! I hope you liked this update and I'll see you next week! ^^ Thank you to everyone who left kudos, bookmarks or comments, they really made my day! <3<3<3


	3. Day 1, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IDOLiSH7 gets shown to their rooms, Iori and Riku have a little alone time and a few of them explore parts of the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm here with another chapter! I hope you guys are excited! ^^ I've mentioned this before, but just so that nobody will be confused, Iori and Riku are already a couple as of the start of this fanfic, which is why this story obviously won't feature a confession scene. I just wanted to make sure everyone was aware of this as there are a few more romantic interactions between the two of them this chapter, and I didn't want anyone to be confused. Anyway, with that said, please enjoy this new chapter!  
If you have any questions or want to talk, just follow me or send me a message on one of my social medias! My twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

It had been about an hour since IDOLiSH7 left the parlor, they had since been shown around the various rooms of the hotel. Ohashi-san hadn’t been lying when he said the design of this building was rather interesting, in fact, most of it really didn’t make any sense at all, it felt a little bit like being inside a surrealistic painting. It definitely wasn’t a place for someone who was bothered by asymmetry. Luckily, there were various signs and maps around the building, pointing you in the direction of the most important places.

They had just reached a corridor that was located on the first floor of the building, it was relatively long and looked fairly normal compared to the rest of the house. “This is where you all will be staying for the duration of the week. There are single rooms at the end of the hallway for the managers, the doors should have your names on them so I believe you’ll be able to find them easily. And for the rest of you we have two double rooms and one for three people.” The worker who had been showing them around told them while gesturing to a few of the rooms throughout the corridor. 

“Thank you so much.” Tsumugi said and bowed to them, Banri as well as the rest of IDOLiSH7 soon followed her example and bowed as a thanks. “Please, enjoy your stay. There will be some other entertainers living in this hallway, I believe you’re already familiar with most of them, which is why we decided to place you in the same part of the hotel.” They said before turning around and leaving the group alone. 

And as they looked around the corridor once the worker left, they noticed that what they had said was indeed true, it appeared as if all of TRIGGER, Re;vale and ZOOL, as well as their respective managers, were supposed to stay in the same corridor as them. 

“Well then,” Tsumugi spoke up, getting all of the others’ attention. “The dinner is supposed to be held in three hours, I suggest that we use this afternoon to rest up. We have no work to do until tomorrow, so you’re all dismissed to do whatever you want for the rest of the day, however, I’d like all of us to meet up here and then head to the restaurant together once it’s time. Also, this should go without saying, but don’t leave the hotel grounds. That’s all I wanted to say.” She said happily. 

“Yes, Manager!” All of IDOLiSH7 said in unison. “See you boys at dinner!” Banri exclaimed as he and Tsumugi walked down the corridor and entered two different rooms at the end. The boys all turned to look at each other while smiling. “Well, it looks like they’ve split us up in sub-units! Mezzo will take that room, Iori and Riku will have the one across from them and me, Nagi and Yamato will take this one to the side.” Mitsuki said as he pointed to the three different rooms that had been assigned to the idols. 

Yamato then immediately started walking towards the door Mitsuki had pointed out led to their room. “Onii-san will take a nap then! See you at dinner.” He said and opened the door. “Oh Yamato! Wait for me and Mitsuki!” Nagi exclaimed as he grabbed ahold of Mitsuki’s hand and dragged the shorter boy away into the same room as the one the oldest member of the group had entered. The door closed behind them, leaving the remaining four standing in the hallway. 

Tamaki let out a yawn of his own. “Sou-chan, I also want to take a nap.” He said. Sougo smiled slightly. “That’s okay, but you shouldn’t sleep for too long, or you’ll be more tired when you wake up again.” Sougo said, using his best mom-voice. “Mn.” Tamaki hummed in agreement, and then the two of them entered their own room as well. 

Now being the only two left, Riku turned to Iori with a smile on his face. “Let’s go check out our room as well, Iori!” He exclaimed happily while grabbing Iori’s arm and pulling him over to the door of their room. “I guess that would be for the best.” Iori said, a light shade of pink covering his cheeks at the other’s close proximity. 

The two opened the door, stepped inside of the room and then closed the door behind them. Riku looked at the room in awe. “Wow, it looks really good!” He exclaimed as he ran in and immediately lay down on the bed, testing how soft it was. “Ahh, this is so nice.” He said happily. Iori walked over and sat down on the second bed. “You’re right, the beds do feel really nice.” He said. Riku rolled around and gave Iori a toothy grin. “Right?” He then asked playfully. 

The room, like the rest of the house, had been furnished and decorated in a classical European style. There was a big wardrobe next to the door in a dark wooden material and an intricate design. Along one of the walls there were two relatively big beds with lots of soft-looking pillows in them, and across from the beds there was a shelf with a TV on it Across from the entrance to the room there was a big window framed with long, light-green curtains, and along that wall there was a small, round table and two armchairs. 

There was also another door, along the same wall as the TV but at the end of the room, that door both Iori and Riku presumed went into the bathroom. They opened it and learned that they had been correct. While the bedroom had a lot of dark woods as well as different shades of green and yellow, the bathroom was mostly white, as well as some other very light colors. There was a toilet, a sink and a big bathtub behind some fancy-looking drapes. 

Riku, who was still laying splayed out on the bed, leaned his head back and craned his neck to look over to where Iori was. The younger of the two had now moved from the bed and was currently observing the view from their window. “Hey, Iori?” Riku called out, making Iori turn around and look at him questioningly. “What is it, Nanase-san?” He asked as he started moving over to where Riku was. 

When Riku saw Iori moving over he flipped around so that he was laying on his stomach instead of on his back. He put his elbows on the bed in front of him and leaned his chin on his hands, after which he proceeded to give Iori a bright smile, his cheeks dusted a light pink. “We could move the beds closer together! That way we could cuddle at night!” Riku suggested with a slight smirk. 

Iori’s face flushed red and he looked at Riku, his expression showing just how scandalous he found the suggestion. “W-wh-what are you saying?! What if someone walked in and saw us? It could cause a scandal, and you know how bad that would be! Besides, moving the beds could inconvenience the staff!” He said, the blush on his face not getting any better at all. 

Riku giggled, he already knew what Iori’s response would be, so he wasn’t really upset, still, he kind of wanted those cuddles. Riku pushed himself up so that he was now sat, cross-legged on the bed, then he gave Iori the best pout he could muster. “Then, could I have some cuddles now instead? The door is locked anyway.” He asked. 

Iori looked away, clearly torn whether to comply or not. From time to time he would glance up at Riku, but then look away once he saw the other’s adorable expectant expression. Iori sighed and walked over to the window again, making Riku think he had been declined, which honestly made the redhead feel a bit sad. 

However, Riku perked up when he saw Iori close the curtains, making it so that nobody could see inside their room, and then walking over to Riku’s bed. “Scoot over then, these beds weren’t made for two after all.” He said, looking to the side to hide his still blushing face. Riku smiled and did as he was told, after which Iori joined him on the bed. 

The two boys lay facing each other, Iori had one arm draped over the pillow, which Riku then rested his head on. Iori’s other hand circled Riku’s waist, coming to rest on the small of his lower back. Riku also had an arm slung over Iori’s waist, while the other was playing with the collar of his shirt. 

Riku closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the warmth that filled him from being so close to Iori. Iori smiled slightly as he observed the other boy that lay in his embrace. He started lightly stroking and playing with the soft hair at the back of Riku’s neck. “This is really nice.” Riku whispered as he leaned a bit closer, inhaling more of Iori’s scent. 

“It is quite nice.” Iori agreed as he pulled Riku closer, burying his nose in the red locks. They stayed like that, just laying down while enjoying the other’s presence, until almost an hour later when they heard a knock on the door and was forced to get up, though not without some complaining on Riku’s side. Those complaints died down as soon as Iori opened the door though. 

Standing on the other side of the door was Riku’s older twin brother, Kujou Tenn. “Tenn-nii!” Riku happily exclaimed as he ran over to the door, grinning at his brother. “Did you need something? Or why did you come here?” Riku asked. 

Tenn looked away, a small scowl adorning his face. “Nothing in particular, just thought I’d check up on you since you tend to overestimate your health. Did you bring everything you need?” He asked. _‘Ah, so he was worried.’_ Iori thought to himself, but he’s pretty sure Tenn would actually try to murder him if he said it out loud. 

Riku pouted. “Of course I have everything! And I do take care of myself properly! Tell him, Iori!” Riku said and turned to look at the younger boy. Iori just raised an eyebrow in response at first. “Actually, Kujou-san is right. Besides, you only remembered to bring your medicine here because I reminded you to pack it this morning. You literally said; ‘Oh, I forgot,’ when I asked you if you had packed it.” He said with a deadpan look. 

Tenn looked over at Iori, actually sort of smiling at him for once. “Thank you, Izumi Iori. See, you do overestimate your health.” Tenn said as he then turned back to Riku, who now looked away in embarrassment. “You were supposed to be on my side…” He whispered while casting a glance at Iori. 

Iori chuckled. “I am on your side, but this time, Kujou-san was correct.” He simply answered. Riku was about to say something more when they all heard an excited voice coming from outside the room. “Oh my, if it isn’t Tenn! What are you standing around here for?” The person asked. 

Tenn turned around and greeted them. “Momo-san. I was just checking up on someone.” He said. Upon hearing who was approaching them, Riku perked up and pushed his way past Tenn and out into the corridor. “Momo-san! It’s nice to see you again!” He exclaimed happily. “Riku!” Momo said as he enveloped his junior in a hug before ruffling his hair. 

Iori too stepped out of the room and greeted their senior, earning a greeting from him in return. “Momo-san, what are you doing out here?” Riku then asked. Momo smirked and pointed down the corridor, at a door leading to another hotel room. “Yuki fell asleep, and I was bored, so I was thinking of walking around and check out this building! Do you guys want to join me?” He asked. 

Both Tenn and Iori looked a bit uncertain at the suggestion, but Riku’s entire face lit up. “Really? I’d love to join you!” He said with a smile on his face. Seeing as Riku’s intentions were to join Momo, Iori and Tenn too decided to join as well. “I guess I’ll go too.” Iori said. “It’s not like I have anything better to do at the moment.” Tenn then responded. 

Momo laughed before he pointed down one of the hallways. “Let’s go then!” He exclaimed. “Yay!” Riku said as he used one hand to grab ahold of Iori’s hand, and used the other to grab Tenn’s, then he pulled the two of them with him to follow Momo through the many hallways and rooms of the hotel. 

Earlier that day, they had been told that there were quite a few of the more odd-looking rooms that had been prepared so that anyone was allowed to enter them at any time, meaning they would never belong to some guest of the hotel. While walking around the mansion, Riku, Iori; Tenn and Momo fully took advantage of this and opened every door, window and hatch that they were allowed to in order to look inside. 

“Man, this house really is strange! I mean, it’s really cool, but it’s also very confusing… I’m not sure whether I’m more amazed or lost in here!” Momo said while smiling and scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. “You can say that again.” Tenn said as he opened up a window on the wall to his left, but instead of leading outside, it led to a room that was furnished to look like a dining area. “The furniture looks brand new, how did they even get it into the room? I don’t see any openings other than this window…” He said. 

Momo walked up to him and looked through the same window and then humming in thought. “That’s supposed to be the charm with this building though, right? It’s definitely not for everyone, but I find it kind of interesting.” He said. “Especially when you think about the fact that it was originally built like this! It wasn’t something they made just for this hotel! I think that’s really cool!” Riku then pointed out. 

“I don’t know, it sort of feels like we’re inside of a surrealistic painting. It is definitely interesting, but I don’t think it’s anything I’m going to want to come back to.” Iori said while looking around the room they were currently stood in. “For once, I agree with you.” Tenn said, making Iori cross his arms and scoff at the older twin. 

The group of four kept walking for a while and then came upon a room that was shaped like a T with numerous doors and windows adorning the walls, though none of them would open at all. Also, there was a much smaller, square shaped room in the middle of the T-shaped room. “This has got to be one of the strangest rooms we’ve come upon so far…” Iori stated. 

Then, all of a sudden Riku perked up. “Hey, isn’t this kind of like the Winchester House?” He asked the others excitedly. “The Winchester House? What is that?” Momo asked, while Tenn and Iori gave Riku equally as confused looks. “It’s an old myth, also known as ‘The Mystery House’. Basically, there was a woman who owned a house that she was renovating, and there was a legend that something really bad would happen as soon as she finished the renovations. To avoid this catastrophe, she simply never stopped adding to the house, building one thing after another until the day she died. It’s kind of similar to this, right? Minus the whole curse like situation.” Riku explained. 

“You’re right! It’s totally similar!” Momo exclaimed in awe. “Hmm, I’ve never heard of that before…” Iori said. Riku chuckled. “It’s not a very well-known myth, so it’s not weird that you don’t know it.” He said, smiling brightly. 

It was then that there was a loud ringing noise throughout the room which startled all of the boys. It took them a few moments to realize it had only been one of their phones ringing. They all checked to see whose it was, turns out it was Momo’s. “It’s a text from Yuki asking where I am, which means he must have woken up.” The oldest in the group said with a grin on his face. 

Tenn frowned as he looked down at his own phone. “Actually, it’s getting pretty late, we should probably head back to meet up with the others if we want to make it in time for dinner.” He said. “That’s a good idea.” Momo said with a nod. Iori and Riku both agreed that it would be best to go back now too. 

“Okay, let’s go back then!” Riku started enthusiastically. “Now, which way did we come from?” He then asked the rest. “This way.” Iori and Tenn both answered in unison, however, they were pointing in opposite directions. It got very quiet after that, at least until Momo spoke up. “Don’t tell me… We’re lost?” He asked. 

It took a few phone calls, maps and sprinting through the hallways of the giant mansion, but Momo, Tenn, Iori and Riku all made it back to the corridor in which they were staying. When they finally arrived, they were met with a group of stressed looking people, more specifically, the rest of IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER and Re;vale who had all been waiting for them to return. Luckily, they had just managed to make it back in time for dinner. 

The dinner was absolutely delicious! Ohashi-san had held another speech, which was fairly interesting at times, though Riku hadn’t been paying that much attention to it. Instead he had been chatting with the other members about how their afternoon had been while telling them about his own adventures with Iori, Tenn and Momo. 

The dinner kept going for about two hours, but then most people retired to their rooms. Iori and Riku both went back to theirs and they were accompanied by the rest of IDOLiSH7. And with that, the first day in Ohashi-san’s hotel officially came to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that! Not that much happened this chapter, they got to settle in and there were some sweet ioriku moments... Nevertheless, I hope you emjoyed this! I'll be back on Friday with the next chapter, so look forward to that! Thank you for reading, and thank you even more to those of you who have left kudos or comments! It really makes me happy! <3


	4. Day 2, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku wakes up in the middle of the night due to the sound of dripping water, and that marks the start of their second day staying at the hotel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! ^^ I'm back with a new chapter! Also, I'd like to tell you guys that I've decided to change the posting schedule a bit... Originally, I was goin to post on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, but I have decided to just do it every other day instead. So I'll be posting now on SUnday, but then I'll do Tuesday instead of Wednesday, then thursday, then Saturday and so on... I hope this sounds okay to all of you! With that said, please enjoy this new chapter!  
If you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can contact me on one of my social medias, my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

_Drip, drop, drip drop._

Riku slowly opened his eyes and the first thing he thought of was, _‘What’s that sound?’_ He sat up and pushed off the covers of the bed, then he tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes to try and wake himself up. He reached out for his phone at the bedside table and looked at the clock. It showed 03:17. 

Riku sighed and put his phone back before he once again heard the sound of dripping water. It seemed to come from the bathroom. _‘That’s weird… I was the last one to use the bathroom last night, and I could have sworn I turned off the faucet.’_ He thought. Still, the sound was bothering him, and he doubted he’d be able to fall back to sleep if he didn’t take care of it. He decided that it was way too early for him to wake up and thus, he stood up and slowly walked in the direction of the bathroom. 

Once inside, he reached for the sink and turned the faucet. Or more specifically, he tried to turn it, however, it wouldn’t budge at all. “That’s strange, it’s completely closed, so where is the dripping sound coming from?” He asked to no one in particular. But just as he finished saying this, he heard the familiar drip, drop once more. He turned around and was met with the bathtub, or at least the drapes that covered the tub. 

He sighed, walked over and grabbed the drapes. But before he got the chance to pull them to the side, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a despairingly strong sense of dread. Riku looked down and could vaguely make out some sort of dark liquid running down the bottom of the tub that wasn’t covered by the drapes. In the darkness of the night, the liquid looked black, but he couldn’t tell if this was its actual color. 

Furthermore, he suddenly also felt an overwhelmingly strong metallic scent. _‘It’s the same scent as the one I felt yesterday, when we first arrived here.’_ He thought. Riku gulped, his heart was beating hard and loud in his chest and he could feel the sweat running down his forehead. But he still gathered all the courage he could muster and in one fell swoop, he pulled the shower curtain to the side, revealing the tub on the other side. 

Riku’s eyes widened at the sight before him. The entire tub was filled with the same dark liquid as the one he had seen running down the bottom of the tub, but this time it didn’t look black, he could clearly see that it was red. The color added with the metallic scent immediately made Riku realize that the entire bathtub was filled to the brim with blood. 

Riku fell to his knees and covered his mouth with both hands. Tears were threatening to spill over and he wanted to puke. Then, something seemed to float to the surface. Riku craned his neck to get a better look only to stare straight into a pair of bloodshot, lifeless eyes. 

And that was when he opened his own eyes, his breathing labored and his heartbeat heavy. He blinked a couple of times before he realized that what he was currently looking at was not a bathtub filled with blood, it was not the eyes of a corpse, it was only the roof of his and Iori’s shared hotel room. 

He sat up and took a few deep breaths to try and calm down. _‘It was just a bad dream?’_ He thought to himself. That was when the door to the bathroom opened and Riku could see Iori come out. He was wrapped in a bathrobe, his cheeks were a bit flushed and his hair damp. Iori must have just finished taking a bath, and if Iori had taken a bath, that must mean that there is no corpse in the bathtub. Riku let out a sigh of relief upon having had this realization. 

Iori turned his attention to the redhead and immediately grew worried seeing Riku breathing heavily. He quickly made his way over to the bed, sat down and started rubbing Riku’s back. “What’s wrong? Do you need your inhaler?” He asked, concern written all over his face. 

Riku smiled weakly and looked up at Iori. “I’ll be fine, I just had a nightmare is all.” He said. Iori still didn’t leave his side, afraid that his condition would worsen. Riku leaned further into Iori’s embrace, letting the heat coming from his body envelop him and help him calm down. He very soon felt a lot better. 

“Are you sure you don’t need to use your inhaler?” Iori asked, still worried. “Yes, my breathing has already calmed down a lot.” Riku said to reassure the other. Iori nodded, though reluctantly. “Then maybe you should take a bath? You’ve been sweating a bit and it could be relaxing.” The younger suggested. 

Riku’s eyes widened at the mention of taking a bath, images from his dream coming back in full force. Iori could see the sudden change in Riku’s demeanor. “What’s wrong?” He asked. Riku shook his head and tried to give Iori a reassuring smile. “Nothing, it’s really nothing. I was just thinking about the dream… In the dream, there was a dead body in our bathtub.” He said sheepishly. 

Realization dawned on Iori’s face. “Oh…” He said. Riku smiled apologetically. “It’s really okay! And you’re right, I do need a bath, but…” He started, then trailed off and looked away to the side, his cheeks were slowly turning red at what he had been meaning to say just then. “But?” Iori inquired. 

Riku shyly looked back at Iori. “But I was wondering if you could go with me? I know you’ve already had a bath! I just don’t really want to be alone in there right now…” He said, his face now an even brighter red than before. Iori was also a bit flushed after hearing what Riku wanted, but seeing as the other was still clearly shaken up by the nightmare he'd just had, Iori agreed that it might be for the best to accompany him. 

“It’s okay, I haven’t gotten dressed yet so it wouldn’t be a problem if I got a bit wet again. I’ll help you.” Iori said. Riku still felt a bit embarrassed, but mostly he just felt relieved that he wouldn’t have to be alone in there. “Thank you.” He said. 

Iori then stood up and held out a hand for Riku, which the redhead grabbed before the two headed off into the bathroom. It had been a bit awkward, but ultimately Riku had been really grateful that Iori had been willing to keep him company. The two finished getting ready and then they headed out to meet the rest of their group for breakfast. 

Even though Riku felt a lot better now, he couldn’t forget the dream he’d had and still felt spooked by it. He’d smelled blood both in the dream and upon entering the hotel yesterday, he hoped it was just his imagination, but he couldn’t help but feel as if there was something important to it. 

Throughout the day, IDOLiSH7 only had one small performance, and apart from that, they’d also been introduced to Ohashi-san’s daughter, the one who was a fan of theirs and thus also the reason for them having been invited to the opening week. Meeting her had been fun, Riku loved seeing and interacting with the fans, so he had been really happy to meet her. The performance also went really well, there were no delays, his condition didn’t act up and he felt like everyone was really able to perform at the best of their abilities that day. So all in all, it had been a very successful day. 

It was currently dinnertime and all of IDOLiSH7 were gathered together at a table, minus the managers though, as they were off on a meeting about tomorrows activities. Re;vale was sat at the same table as them while both TRIGGER and ZOOL were supposed to perform that night, so they had already finished eating and were currently off preparing for that. There were also some other people sat at the other end of the table, Riku believed they were all part of a more traditional band. 

For the duration of the dinner, Riku had been engaged in a conversation about a recent book he had read with Yuki when he couldn’t help but overhear a conversation between the bandmembers that were sat further down the table, the ones he was unfamiliar with. “This place is seriously giving me the creeps!” One of the girls said, she had long brown hair that was in a high ponytail and green eyes. 

“Really? It’s a weird place for sure, but I wouldn’t go as far as to call it creepy.” The girl across from the brunette said, this one had shoulder length, curly, blonde hair and dark brown eyes. “The entire history of this place is super fishy though? Like, why wouldn’t the last owner want anyone to have anything to do with this place? What was he hiding? I bet someone died here before, and that’s why he told people to stay away. Besides, there’s this really ominous feeling lurking around every corner, and I swear I could smell blood earlier!” The brown-haired girl exclaimed. 

Riku perked up at the mention of a smell of blood, his slightly shocked expression causing Yuki, with whom he had been talking, to look quite alarmed. “Riku-kun? Is something wrong?” He asked. Riku could feel the worried gazes of the rest of his own group turning to him, but he ignored them and turned to the brown-haired girl sat further down the table. 

“I'm sorry if I'm interrupting, but you’ve noticed it too?” He asked, making the girls turn their attention to him. She stared at him in shock but soon snapped out of it. “Wait, so you’ve also smelt blood here before? It wasn’t just me?” She asked, now intrigued. Riku nodded. “Yeah, twice. Once just after we entered the building for the first time, and then again this morning. I’ve also had this nagging feeling like something’s not right.” He explained. 

The girl stood up and walked over, then pulled out the chair next to Riku and sat down. “It’s suspicious, isn’t it?” She asked and Riku nodded. The girl smiled and then stretched out a hand. “My name is Chiharu, Kaname Chiharu. I’m the bassist in the band ‘Four Clovers’.” She introduced herself with a smile on her face. 

Riku returned the smile and shook Chiharu’s hand. “I’m Nanase Riku, the center of the idol group IDOLiSH7! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kaname-san.” He said. Chiharu let go of Riku’s hand and instead leaned one of her elbows on the table while staring up at the redhead. “You can just call me Chiharu, my manager is the only one who calls me by my surname anyway. In return, can I call you Riku-kun?” She asked. 

Riku nodded. “That’s fine, thank you, Chiharu-san.” He answered with a smile. After that, Riku introduced Chiharu to the other members of IDOLiSH7, as well as to Re;vale. Afterwards, he also got introduced to the three other bandmembers in Chiharu’s band. There was Akatsuki Mana, a short girl with short black hair and brown eyes, she was the lead singer and guitarist. Then there was Kohinata Sayuri, a girl with long, wavy, purple dyed hair, blue eyes and glasses, she played the drums. And lastly, there was Takahashi Yuka, the blonde girl he’d seen Chiharu talking with earlier, she was also the one playing keyboard in the band. 

Riku and Chiharu talked for a while longer, the other members of either group sometimes remarking about something. Then Chiharu made a suggestion. “Hey, I have a sort of weird request. I’ve been into the occult for a long time, and seeing as this place is probably haunted, I kind of wanted to do a séance. Do you want to join? I didn’t have enough people to do it with anyway.” She said. 

Riku looked a bit taken aback. “A séance? Like, summoning a spirit? Couldn’t that be dangerous?” He asked. Chiharu smiled and shook her head. “It’s not that dangerous as long as you’re in control, besides, even if there are spirits here, they’re probably not all that powerful, I bet I would’ve sensed a lot more if they were.” She explained. 

This time, it was Tamaki who spoke up. “Rikkun, are there really g-ghosts here?” He asked, clearly not being very comfortable with the current topic. Riku felt a bit guilty for talking about this in front of Tamaki, but there was something about Chiharu’s idea that both intrigued him and scared him. “I don’t know, are you sure it’s safe?” He asked again. 

“I’ve done dozens of séances in the past, and none of them went wrong.” She said proudly. “Besides, we need to be four people to do it, and the only one from my group I’ve managed to convince to join is Yuka. Would you please help me out?” Chiharu then asked. Riku sighed, but he supposed he was kind of interested, he had never done a proper séance before, but he knew for a fact that ghosts and the like really existed, he had seen them after all. 

“Fine, I’ll join.” He then said. Chiharu looked really happy while some of the members from IDOLiSH7 looked more alarmed at Riku’s decision, namely Iori and Tamaki. “Wait, are you really going to do it, Nanase-san? You said it yourself, what if it’s dangerous?” Iori asked worriedly. Riku pouted. “Iori, you don’t even believe in ghosts, why are YOU worried?” Riku asked. 

Iori scoffed. “I don’t, but I still don’t think the occult is something you should mess around with.” He said. Mitsuki looked at his younger brother sympathetically, he knew Iori was just worried about Riku, but he also knew he was too tsundere to say this out loud. Chiharu was the one who spoke next. “I assure you, we’re not just messing around. And if you’re worried, you can always come watch. In fact, all of you can be there if you want to! Also, we’re still one person short, it’s me, Yuka and Riku, but I need a fourth. Is any of you interested?” She asked. 

Iori blushed and looked to the side before replying. “I’ll watch, but I’d rather not participate.” Next up was Momo. “Oh, I want to watch too! Though I’m not so sure about participating, I’d probably pee my pants!” He said jokingly. Yuki then placed a hand on Momo’s shoulder. “If Momo watches, then I will too.” Then, it was Sougo’s turn. “I’d sort of like to join you, if you’ll have me. I’ve read some books on the occult before and always wanted to try a séance.” He said. 

Tamaki looked at him horrified. “Sou-chan, not you too?! But then who will keep me company in my room? Because I am NOT going!” He exclaimed loudly. Yamato chuckled and patted Tamaki’s shoulder. “Onii-san will stay with you until Sou returns then. I’m not that keen on being there anyways, I’d rather just relax.” He said. 

“Nagi, Mitsuki, how about you?” Riku then asked. Nagi clapped his hands together and smiled. “I, too, wish to observe this séance!” He said happily. “I guess I’ll go too then.” Mitsuki started. “To keep Iori company that is.” He said and threw an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders. 

“Perfect! Then let’s meet in westernmost parlor tonight at nine! Come as you are, I’ll take care of all the preparations!” She said excitedly. Riku nodded. “Got it, see you later tonight!” He said with a smile. After that, Chiharu and the rest of her band left the restaurant. Shortly after, IDOLiSH7 and Re;vale also took their leave, Riku apologizing to Tamaki again and again on the way back to their rooms. Still, he was both excited and nervous about what would happen tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Did you like this chapter? Like I said before, next update will be on Sunday, so stay tuned! As you might have guessed already, next chapter will focus on the séance, so maybe we'll finally get some ghosts into this story, eh? Anyway, thank you so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed! And thank you to those who leaves kudos and comment, or who supports me in other ways! It makes me very happy! <3


	5. Day 2, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for the séance! Will they be able to contact any spirits? Will everything go as it should?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with the next chapter! This is the chapter with the séance, which a lot of you seemed to be excited for, so I hope I'm able to meet your expectations! Please enjoy it! ^^ ANd if you have any questions or wanna talk, you can either contact me on my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

After having rested for a few hours in their rooms once they'd finished dinner, Riku, Iori, Mitsuki, Nagi, Sougo, Yuki and Momo met up in the corridor outside of their respective hotel rooms. It was currently quarter to nine, meaning it was about time for them to start making their way towards the parlor they would perform the séance in.

Momo was seemingly the most excited. “It’s kind of like we’re in a horror movie, no? Isn’t it really suspenseful thinking about what we’re about to do?” He asked, a smug smile on his face. “Yes, I’m excited to see how it all works.” Sougo responded. Momo then turned to Riku. “Have you ever done a séance before? How do they work?” He then asked. 

Riku shook his head. “I’ve never done one, so I’m not sure. I never really had to seek out spirits before, they just sort of came to me… Then again, hospitals are quite common places for ghosts to dwell in, I guess...” He explained. “Isn’t it scary?” Nagi then asked. 

Riku smiled shyly. “Not really, though all the ones I saw were rather peaceful. Since I’ve never really encountered an evil or resentful spirit, I can’t really say how that would be.” He said. “Are you really sure this séance will be safe?” Iori then asked for what had to be the tenth time that evening, at least. “Chiharu-san seemed to know what she was doing, so I think it’s fine.” Riku said. 

Iori then stared at the other in disbelief. “You think it will be fine? So you aren’t sure if it’s really safe, and you’re still doing it?” He asked, earning a small pout in response. “Well, I’m curious! I have felt something off in here since we first arrived, I want to know if it could be related to something like a spirit! I don’t know why, but I haven’t been able to shake the feeling that there’s something here…” Riku tried explaining, though he wasn't really sure how to best put his unease into words. 

When all Iori did was sigh in response, Riku lightly hit his shoulder. “You know, for someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts, you’re awfully on edge.” He said. Iori glanced to the side, a light blush covering his cheeks. “I just…” He started before stopping, grabbing ahold of Riku’s wrist and looking straight at him. “I just don’t want anything to happen to you!” He exclaimed, perhaps a bit too loudly. 

Riku’s face burst into flames at Iori’s bold exclamation, he really hadn’t expected him to do something like that. In front of them, the other people had stopped to observe them, and when they heard what Iori had said, they all went, “Aww!” in unison, making both Iori and Riku blush even harder. It wasn’t a secret to the other IDOLiSH7 members that the two were a couple, and even TRIGGER and Re;vale knew about it and supported them wholeheartedly. (Except for maybe Tenn, but that was to be expected.) 

Iori cleared his throat to try and ease the now awkward atmosphere into something a bit more comfortable. “Anyway, can you blame me for not believing in it? I’m not like you, I can’t see nor sense them like you claim you can. It’s not that easy to believe that there’s something there that you can’t see.” Iori said, trying to let his explanation change the mood of the current situation. He then let go of Riku’s wrist and walked past him and up to the others. Before he got far though, he felt someone grab ahold of the bottom of his shirt. 

Iori turned around slowly and was met with Riku sporting a bright red face and an awfully shy expression. He was currently looking everywhere but at Iori and soon settled for a nice spot on the carpet beneath their feet. “Thank you.” He whispered, it was loud enough so that Iori could make it out, but he doubted his brother and the others had been able to tell. 

Riku continued. “I don’t mean to make you worried by doing this, but I am glad that you’ll be there. It makes me feel a lot safer.” He said. Iori was once again turned into a blushing and stuttering mess, but he was happy nonetheless. 

After that little incident, the group kept walking towards the parlor where Chiharu and Yuka would be waiting for them. And if Iori and Riku were walking a little bit behind the others while holding hands and still being flustered, no one commented on it. (Though Mitsuki really wanted to.) It was only a few minutes later that they arrived at their destination. 

As they reached the parlor, Sougo knocked on the door, and Iori and Riku let go of each other’s hands so as to not give themselves away. The door opened and out came a smiling Chiharu. “Oh great! You guys are just on time!” She exclaimed, before proceeding to shove the boys into the room. 

The room was fairly similar to the other parlors in the house, but it was on the smaller side. In the middle of the room there was a small, round table with four chairs placed around it. In the middle of the table there was lit candle and a box of matches, there was also a pile of blank papers and a black marker in front of one of the seats. 

“Isn’t it a bit dark in here?” Iori asked, seeing as the only source of light was a small lamp stood on the windowsill and the lit candle on the small round table. Chiharu smirked. “Actually, we’re going to turn off the lamp right before we start with the séance, spirits dislike brightness, so having too much light might scare them away, and then the whole thing will be a bust!” She explained. 

“Uh huh…” Iori said hearing this. Then, the other girl, Yuka, walked up to him and patted his shoulder. “I apologize about Chiharu, she gets way too excited about things like this, I just wish she would stop dragging others into it.” She said. Iori smiled, though it was a bit awkward. “It’s fine, they wanted to do it after all.” He said. 

Yuka then gave Iori a knowing smile before letting his shoulder go and walk over to Chiharu again. Sougo then stepped forward. “Uhm, how exactly is this going to work? Neither me or Riku-kun have done this before, so…” He started. “Ah, yes! I’ll explain everything!” Chiharu exclaimed. 

She first pointed to the five guys who weren’t going to participate. “I must ask the five of you to step back a bit, we’re going to do the séance at this table,” She started and pointed to the small, round table in the center of the room. “And while it’s fine for you to be in the room while we do it, you should try and stay away from the table, so as to not disturb the spirits. Maybe you could go stand by that wall over there, or sit in that sofa.” She continued, pointing to the left side of the room. 

“Got it!” Momo exclaimed happily as he dragged Yuki over to sit down on the sofa placed in one of the corners of the room. Mitsuki and Nagi followed suit, but they choose to keep standing instead of sitting down. Iori was a bit more reluctant, casting one final worried glance at Riku, who then proceeded to give the younger a reassuring smile, telling him that everything would be okay. Iori nodded and joined his brother and Nagi leaning against the wall. 

“Great, I must also ask that you stay there unless something goes really wrong.” Chiharu then said. Iori especially perked up at this, but all the others looked at her worriedly as well. “I thought you said it was safe?!” Iori asked in disbelief. Yuka sighed and facepalmed. “Just as we got that guy to calm down…” She whispered to herself. 

Chiharu laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that! I’ve done this more than twenty times before, and nothing has ever gone wrong! And besides, if something does go wrong, I’ll be the one in the most vulnerable position, I wouldn’t want to be responsible for someone else getting hurt after all.” She said while still smiling, although a bit apologetically. 

Iori nodded at her, but he now looked more skeptical than when they had first enter. “Is it going to be dangerous for you?” Riku then asked Chiharu out of concern. She shook her head. “No, I was just saying it as a ‘what if’ scenario. Don’t worry!” She said. 

“Anyways, let’s move on with the explanation, okay?” Chiharu said, earning nods from both Riku and Sougo. “The four of us will be sitting around this table, I will sit in front of the pile of papers and hold the pencil while the rest of you hold hands to connect the circle. You won’t be able to hold my hands, but the ones sitting both to my left and right must keep one of their hands on my arms in order to keep the circle closed. That way, if we contact a spirit, they won’t be able to just leave as they wish.” She explained. 

“I am going to be the vessel, meaning that if we do summon a spirit, we can ask it questions and it will answer via me.” Chiharu then said. “So it will talk through your mouth?” Sougo asked. Chiharu shook her head. “No, that’s what the pen and papers are for. The spirit will control my hands and say what it wants to say by making me write it down.” Was the answer he was given. Sougo nodded in understanding. 

Chiharu then turned to Riku. “Also, can I ask you to read the incantation, or ask the questions to the spirit if we summon it? You seem to be the one apart from me who has the most compatibility with them, so it might make it a bit easier.” She suggested. Riku thought for a while but then nodded, although he still looked a bit unsure. “I could, I just don’t know what to say…” He said. 

Chiharu smiled and reached into her pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “You can just read from this, it should make a spirit answer us, and when it does, just ask it whatever you can think of!” She said. Riku smiled and accepted the paper. He read it through and then gave her the approval that he would do it. 

“Great, then shall we start? Just remember to not break the circle, it must remain closed as long as the spirit is present. As long as we do that, everything will be fine!” She said. Yuka, Sougo and Riku nodded and then took their place at the table. Chiharu went to turn off the lamp before joining them as well. 

Yuka, who was sitting to Chiharu’s left, reached out and took ahold of her friend’s arm before reaching out to Riku, gesturing for him to take a hold of her hand, which he did. Then, Riku and Sougo, who was sitting on Chiharu’s right, also grabbed each other’s hands before finally, Sougo finished by grabbing Chiharu’s other arm. 

Chiharu sighed and closed her eyes. “Okay, the circle has been closed. Riku, you may begin the summoning whenever you feel ready.” She said calmly. Riku swallowed but nodded, his heart was beating loud, but he didn’t know if it was from fear or anticipation. In the corner, Iori and the others stood and nervously observed as the séance started for real. 

Riku took a deep breath, and then he started reading from the note he had been given earlier. “To all of the spirits living in this mansion… Please, possess this woman’s hand and reveal your souls. I implore you to reveal yourselves. Please, let us hear what is in your souls. If you hear my voice, please reveal yourselves. What is it tha-” Riku was suddenly interrupted by Chiharu starting violently move the marker against the paper, writing something. 

Sougo looked panicked for a second. “What’s happening?” He asked. Yuka gripped both Chiharu’s arm and Riku’s hand tighter. “We’ve got a spirit.” She said seriously. “But I hadn’t even finished saying everything written on the note yet! And we haven’t asked it anything!” Riku said worriedly. Iori took a step away from the wall seeing this play out. Yuka noticed the movement and turned to him. “Don’t come closer!” She yelled, making Iori back away again. 

She then turned back to Riku and smiled. “It’s okay, sometimes, spirits find their way to us even if we don't finish calling for them! It might just mean that your powers are stronger than you thought.” She explained. Sougo was the next one to speak up. “What about it talking on it’s own? And we can’t even see what it’s trying to tell us, it’s just throwing the papers away as soon as it’s done!” He stated. 

Yuka looked over at Chiharu with a slight bit of concern on her face. “Maybe it just has something it really wants to say.” She said. Chiharu’s writing was getting faster and faster, as well as sloppier and sloppier. It was then that things really started to get weird. 

All of a sudden, there were sounds of clattering and rapping all over the room, the furniture seemed to be shaking and it suddenly got a lot colder than before. The guys who hadn’t been participating in the séance stared at each other in shock, not really grasping what was going on. Then, the lightbulb in the windowsill lamp suddenly broke, making Riku let out a surprised scream while both he and Sougo jumped. 

Iori was really fighting to not run straight over there, but it was getting increasingly harder by the second. “Whatever you do, don’t break the circle!” Yuka yelled. Riku and Sougo nodded in return. Then, the table they were sat at started shaking slightly and the candle in the center fell over and went out, making the entire room pitch black. As the light vanished, so too did the sounds and the temperature returned to normal. 

“Someone, find a light switch!” Yuka called out. “That’s easy for you to say, we can’t see anything in here!” Mitsuki yelled back. Then the lights came back on, making everyone blink as they adjusted to the sudden change. It turns out it was Nagi that had managed to make his way to the main switch, which had lit up the entire room. 

The room was a little bit of a mess, a lot of things had fallen over, there were scattered papers everywhere and broken glass covered the floor by the window. Chiharu, who had stopped writing by now, had opened her eyes and was breathing heavily. Yuka was the first one to break the circle as she let go of both Riku’s hand and Chiharu’s arm, only to use both her hands to cup the other girl’s face. “Are you okay? That was quite intense.” She said. 

Chiharu nodded and smiled weekly. “Yeah, I’m fine. I guess it worked, huh?” She said, making Yuka chuckle and nod at her. Seeing as it was over, Iori and others made their way over to check on Riku and Sougo. Iori immediately grabbed Riku’s shoulders, turning him around so that he was facing him. “Are you okay?” He asked worriedly. 

Riku flashed Iori his signature smile. “I’m perfectly fine, just a bit shaken I guess. But don’t worry, I’m really not hurt in any way.” He reassured the younger, who proceeded to pull the redhead into a hug, not caring who could be watching. “Good.” Was all he said, but Riku could tell that Iori too had been really shaken by what had just happened. 

It was then that Riku remembered something, he pushed Iori away, walked around the table and crouched down. “What are you doing?” Yuki asked curiously as he watched Riku. Chiharu’s eyes widened. “Oh, we forgot to check what the spirit wanted to say!” She exclaimed excitedly. 

“Help.” Riku said. Chiharu and Yuka smiled and nodded. “Of course, we’ll help you pick it all up right now!” Yuka answered. Riku looked up at them, a serious expression on his face. “No, that’s what the papers say. ‘Help’. All of them say only that.” He explained. 

Chiharu bent down and picked up a few papers herself. “You’re right, they’re all the same…” She said astonished. The room fell silent for a while, before Momo decided to break the silence. “Okay, but what does it mean? Since it was a spirit, aren’t they already dead? How can you help someone who’s already dead?” He asked. 

Chiharu stood up and looked at Momo seriously. “Well, it could mean a lot of different things. Like…” She started, but trailed off as she thought of different meanings. However, Riku beat her to the punch. “For example, the spirit could be trying to communicate it’s final thoughts. Maybe they were begging for someone to help them as they died. Or maybe, the spirit could be trapped somewhere, in which case, it’s asking for help to be released. Either way, the spirit we summoned is either still suffering now, or suffered a lot in it’s last moments…” He said, looking both sad and troubled as he did. 

Once again, it got awfully silent. That is, until Sougo noticed something weird. “Hey, there’s a paper over here that’s different from the others!” He exclaimed as he went to grab it. When he looked at the paper, his eyes widened. “What does it say?” Chiharu asked curiously. Sougo hesitated, then handed the paper over for everyone else to see, a grim expression on his face. 

Everyone looked at the paper they had just been given in shock. On the paper were the words ‘I don’t want to die’ written in red. “I didn’t write this.” Chiharu said. Yuka scoffed. “Well, of course you didn’t, that spirit did.” She said. Chiharu shook her head and looked at her friend worriedly. “I didn’t mean it like that. Look at it, it’s written in red, but my marker is black, so I couldn’t have written it, even while possessed.” She explained. 

“You mean…” Yuka started, and then realization flashed across Riku’s face as he suddenly understood what had happened. “There was a second spirit.” He said, and all eyes turned to him as he said this. “What do you mean? A second spirit?” Mitsuki asked. 

“I mean exactly what I said, there wasn’t just one spirit in here, there were two. And I don’t think the second one was contained within our circle. Just think about it. It was first shortly after the first one started writing that all that weird stuff started happening, right? And both rapping sounds and lowered temperatures are signs that spirits are present.” He said. 

Chiharu nodded. “That has to be it. We somehow managed to summon not one, but two spirits, and one was strong enough to break through our closed circle on its own. That’s the spirit that left this other message, but because it didn’t have access to me and the marker, it had to use something else to convey its message with.” She explained. 

“So what? It possessed a red marker?” Momo asked, still a bit confused as to what just happened. “No.” Riku said before grabbing the odd paper and bringing it closer to his face, then smelling it. “It’s the smell of blood.” He said. 

It had now been about two hours since they did the séance and Riku and Iori were back in their own room, sat in their respective beds. Both were tired, but neither able to fall asleep. “Hey, Iori?” Riku said quietly. “Yeah?” Iori answered. Riku rolled around to lay on his side so that he could look at the other’s face more easily. “Would you think I’m crazy if I say I think that the second spirit has been around me before?” He asked. 

Iori raised an eyebrow in question. “How do you mean?” He asked. Riku sighed. “I don’t know, I was just thinking. What if earlier, when I smelled the blood out of nowhere, that was actually a sign that it was close? What if it’s that spirit itself that smells like blood?” He speculated. Iori hummed and looked as if he was thinking before finally giving his reply. 

“I really don’t get things like ghosts and that occult stuff, so I’m not sure if I’m the right person to ask, but I guess it’s not impossible? That is if spirits really exist at least.” He answered. Riku frowned. “Even after everything that happened tonight, you still don’t believe in ghosts?” He asked, almost sounding a bit upset. 

“I don’t know what to believe!” Iori exclaimed. “I guess I’m less skeptic now than I was before, but it’s not that easy to change one’s opinion of something they’ve considered as a fact since forever. And even if those strange things happened, it’s not an impossibility that it was all staged.” He said. 

“You think it was staged? No way!” Riku exclaimed in shock. Iori rubbed the back of his head. “I didn’t say it was staged! Just that it’s a possibility! I think it’s unlikely that someone would pull that off, but it’s not entirely impossible.” He said. 

Riku frowned but sighed as he realized Iori wasn’t wrong. “I can’t really argue with that I guess…” Riku said, and then the two lay back down and fell silent again. That is, until a few minutes later when Iori turned back to Riku. “Are you sure you’re okay though?” He asked. Riku rolled his eyes as he had literally lost count of how many times Iori had asked him that. “Yes, I’m fine.” He answered, just like all the other times. 

However, then Riku added something else. “I am a bit scared though.” He whispered. Iori sat up and looked at him, concern written all over his face. “Of what?” He asked. “That spirit.” Riku answered. “The one that wrote the odd paper and smelled like blood?” Iori tried to confirm. Riku nodded. 

“In order for that spirit to smell like blood, how much blood must they have been around when they were alive in order to do that? Whoever, or whatever they are, I bet it’s not very friendly.” He said. Iori sighed as he pushed off the blankets and walked over to Riku’s bed. “Scoot over.” He commanded, earning a confused look from Riku. “What?” The bewildered redhead asked. 

Iori just sighed again. “I said scoot over. I’ll sleep in your bed tonight, to make sure nothing happens while you sleep.” He said, a light blush covering his cheeks. Riku too started blushing, but also smiled sweetly at Iori’s kind gesture. “Thank you.” Was all he said as he did what Iori had told him to and scooted over, making room for the younger man in the slightly too small bed. 

Iori pulled Riku closer, lightly kissed his forehead and waited until he could feel the other relax in his embrace before saying something more. “I won’t let anyone hurt you, dead or alive, it doesn’t matter. I’ll keep you safe.” He said. Riku almost started crying at that, so instead he just buried his face in Iori’s chest and tightened his arms that were wrapped around the other’s chest. “Me too. I won’t let them hurt you either.” He said back. And with that, the two fell asleep in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done! Did you like it? I hope you did! I'll be back with the next chapter on Tuesday, though it might be up pretty late on Tuesday as I get out of school pretty late, at least it will be up a bit later than the chapters I've posted so far... ^^ Anyway, thank you for reading! And thank you to those who leaves kudos or comments, they make me super happy! <3<3


	6. Day 3, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon waking up the morning after the séance, IDOLiSH7 are given some disturbing news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a new chapter! I thought I wouldn't be able to do this until later today, but I managed to make some time now! With that said, please enjoy this chapter. ^^  
If you have any questions or want to ask me something you can find me on twitter: @EFagerhag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

The next morning arrived rather uneventfully, everyone was still pretty tired, but after what had happened the night before, it was to be expected. It was now 9 AM and IDOLiSH7 had gathered in the restaurant, they were currently eating breakfast. The guys from ZOOL were also there, though they sat further down the table, and soon, the three members from TRIGGER also arrived.

“Wow, you guys look tired. Didn’t sleep well?” Gaku asked as he sat down beside Yamato, Ryuu joining him as well while Tenn chose to sit across from them and beside Riku. “I always look tired and am almost offended that you only noticed now.” Yamato responded with a slight smirk. 

Gaku rolled his eyes. “Okay, ignoring Nikaido, what about the rest of you?” He then asked, curiously eyeing the rest of them. The members of IDOLiSH7 looked at each other, debating whether they should tell TRIGGER about what had happened last night or not. Mitsuki was the first one who took it upon himself to answer. “It’s nothing really, we just had a bit of a scare last night, guess it made it a bit hard to sleep for most of us, huh?” He said, smiling sheepishly while he did. 

“A scare?” Ryuu asked, concern showing on his face. “What happened?” He continued. Yamato sighed. “Sou and Riku summoned a ghost with some girls while Ichi, Mitsu, Nagi, Momo-san and Yuki-san watched.” He explained. All of TRIGGER looked taken aback at this. 

Tenn turned to Riku, a stern and worried expression on his face. “Why would you do that?” He asked in disbelief. Riku pouted. “Well, both me and this girl, Kaname Chiharu-san, had been noticing some strange things around this building and got to talking about it. Then she mentioned how she wanted to try doing a séance, but they were two people short, so she asked if me and someone else wanted to join. I was curious, and so I agreed.” He explained. 

“Wait, don’t tell me you actually managed to summon a ghost?” Ryuu asked in disbelief. “Of course they didn’t, it’s all made up Ryuu.” Gaku said, rolling his eyes again. “Actually…” Mitsuki started. “I think they summoned two.” He then said. 

It got really quiet after that, Tamaki had covered his ears, as he didn’t want to listen to all that talk about ghosts, Sougo was stroking his back, trying to comfort the younger boy. Soon, Gaku spoke up again. “You can’t be serious. Ghosts don’t exist, you were obviously set up.” He said seriously. 

“I really don’t think so, and I don’t think you would disagree if you had been there. It was really freaky.” Sougo said. Tenn then reached out and grabbed Riku’s hand. “Are you okay? Was anybody hurt?” He asked in concern. Riku smiled and shook his head. “No, everyone was okay, just a bit freaked out.” He explained. 

It was then that the small group of friends were joined by a familiar face. “Yuka-san!” Riku exclaimed happily as he saw the blonde girl approach their table. He turned to the members of TRIGGER and started explaining. “This is Takahashi Yuka-san. She’s the second girl we performed the séance with last night.” Riku said. It was first after he had said this and turned back to the girl that he noticed the troubled expression on her face. “What’s wrong?” He asked. 

Yuka was panting slightly, her eyes scanning the room, as if she was looking for something. Her eyes then settled on Riku and the rest. “Please, have any of you seen Chiharu? She wasn’t in our room this morning, I haven’t been able to find her anywhere and she doesn’t even have her phone on her! It was left on her bedside table!” She exclaimed, sounding a bit desperate. 

“Chiharu-san is missing?” Nagi asked as everyone in the room perked up. Yuka nodded. “Could she have left the hotel?” Yamato asked, trying to stay as calm as possible to not alert the distressed girl. Yuka shook her head violently. “No, all of her things are still here. Plus, I found her contact lenses on the bathroom counter and her extra glasses in her bag. She’s practically blind when she’s not wearing them and never goes anywhere without them!” She explained. 

Mitsuki stood up and placed a hand on Yuka’s shoulder. “Relax, I’m sure she’s fine. Even though we only met yesterday, I could tell she’s a very strong person.” He told her and smiled reassuringly. Sougo then also stood up. “That’s right. And you said she’s not wearing any lenses or glasses, maybe she just got lost walking around? It’s difficult to find your way around this place even when you can see clearly, after all.” He suggested. 

Yuka nodded, but her expression told them she wasn’t buying it. Iori was the next to speak. “When was the last time you saw her?” He asked. Yuka thought for a while before giving him her answer. “Well, I woke up from a nightmare around 3 AM, and at that time she was still asleep in her own bed. When I woke up the next time, which was around 7:30 AM, she was gone.” She explained. 

Iori nodded. “It’s 9 AM now, so she’s only been gone for maximum 6 hours. Let’s try and calm down for now, yeah?” He suggested. Yuka nodded again, grabbed a chair and sat down in it, sighing as she did so. Riku reached out and grabbed her hand. “Don’t worry, we’ll all help you look for her.” He said with a smile, which Yuka tried to return. 

All of IDOLiSH7 agreed to go look for the missing girl, even Tamaki wanted to help, despite being convinced that she had been eaten by the ghosts from last night, and was thus terrified. They even got both TRIGGER and ZOOL to help with the search, at least as long as they had no work to do. And later, when Yuki and Momo woke up, they too offered to help. And so, after telling their managers, everyone started wandering around the huge mansion looking for the missing Chiharu. 

It had been about an hour since they started their search and all seven members of IDOLiSH7 were walking around the mansion together. All of a sudden, there was the sound of mobile phone going off. It was Riku’s phone, he had received a text message. “It’s from Yuka-san, she says she and the hotel staff finished checking the video footage from tonight, but they couldn’t find anything. Furthermore, there seems to be some sections of the footage that has been deleted or something. If Chiharu-san is on those videos, it has to be in the deleted parts.” He said. 

“Do they know what time it was the deleted footage should have shown?” Iori asked. Riku nodded. “Well, multiple cameras stopped working for 2-3 minutes sometime between 4 AM and 5 AM.” He answered. Further down the hallway, Nagi sighed. “It’s awfully convenient for the footage of her specifically to be deleted. Do you think someone did it deliberately?” He asked thoughtfully. 

Riku shook his head, a worried expression donning his face. “No, there was no trace of anyone having touched the surveillance equipment at all. It seems the cameras just sort of… stopped working by themselves.” He said. This time, it was Mitsuki that pointed out how strange that was. “That’s almost even more convenient. What are the odds that they stopped working right at that moment?” He asked while rolling his eyes. 

“Well…” Riku started, not entirely sure how he would explain the next part, but luckily, he didn’t have to, as Sougo asked him directly instead. “I read somewhere that when there’s a spirit in a room, the electronics in that room tend to malfunction until it leaves, if they don't break completely, is that correct?” 

Riku nodded. “Yes, that was what I was about to explain.” He said. Tamaki shuddered and stood behind Nagi while grabbing the older boy’s shoulders. Tamaki then gulped before talking, his voice shaky. “S-so that means… That she r-really was taken by g-gh-ghosts, then? And they made the c-cameras all weird?” He asked, not liking the way this was going. 

Sougo smiled, trying to reassure Tamaki, even if only a little bit. “We don’t know that for sure. I’m sure it’s all going to be fine, we just have to keep looking.” He said, the others agreeing with him. Tamaki seemed to calm down a little, but he still held onto Nagi tightly for the duration of their search. 

As they were walking around some more, Mitsuki came up with something. “Well, she was the only one who was actually possessed last night, what if it has something to do with the same spirit who possessed her?” He speculated out loud. Yamato sighed. “So, we’re really assuming that it was a spirit who took her? Does everyone suddenly believe in ghosts after last night?” He asked. 

“Well, it sure feels a lot more believable after last night at least.” Mitsuki said. “Right…” Iori agreed, although reluctantly. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Everyone turned around and stared at Riku, who was the one who had said it. They all seemed quite confused. “You’re the one who’s always believed in them, did you suddenly change your mind?” Iori asked. 

Riku shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t talking about whether or not ghosts exist, I was talking about Mitsuki’s theory, that she was taken by the same ghost that possessed her. It doesn’t make any sense.” He explained. “Why not?” Mitsuki asked, clearly not following the redhead’s train of thought. The others seemed equally as confused. 

“Think about it, the spirit that possessed her was calling out for help. Thinking about it, maybe the spirit we contacted last night was just like Chiharu-san? Someone who went missing in here, and now their soul is still stuck. Why would someone seeking help take another victim? It doesn’t make any sense.” He explained. 

“I see…” Mitsuki said, and when he thought about it, what Riku said was sort of right. “Then what about the other one?” Iori asked. “The one that wrote that odd message in blood, didn’t you say you felt scared of it last night?” He clarified. 

Riku nodded, but he didn’t look convinced at all. “I’d say it’s more likely, but we don’t know anything about it. I have no idea who they are, or what happened to them. We also don’t know anything about what sort of spirit it is. I just know that whenever it was present, I got this really bad feeling.” Riku said. 

“So, in the end,” Yamato started. “All we are left with is speculations and different theories about ghost kidnappings?” He then asked. Riku nodded bitterly. “Seems like it.” He said. “That’s not really a lot to go on.” Mitsuki stated. 

The rest sighed but continued the search anyway. None of them had work until later that afternoon, so they wanted to help out while they still could. Soon, Iori opened up a door that led into one of the rooms that hadn’t been fixed for the hotel. It was dark, completely unfurnished and extremely dusty. It was then that Iori was hit with a sudden thought. 

“Hey, what if Kaname-san wandered into the parts of the mansion that hasn’t been renovated to serve as a part of the hotel? There wouldn’t be any cameras in there, and it would be a lot easier to get lost considering that there are no maps that show those parts either.” He suggested. 

The others thought for a while, then Mitsuki answered. “I guess it’s possible, but why would she go into one of those rooms though?” He asked. Tamaki raised a hand, eager to answer as he felt like he hadn’t really been able to do anything productive at all since they started searching. “Didn’t that other girl say that she couldn’t see well? What if she just didn’t realize that it was an unused room?” He asked, smiling brightly. 

Mitsuki was, once again, the one who answered. “Again, it’s possible, but I think you’d notice by the smell and the dust, even if you couldn’t see though…” He said. Next up was Sougo. “But what if she did accidentally wander into one of these rooms, then, because they’re old and worn down, maybe she tripped and hurt herself while trying to go back? If so, it would make sense that no one has found her, after all, why would someone go into those parts of the house?” He suggested. 

Tamaki smiled even brighter at that. “If that’s the case, then maybe there really are no ghosts after all!” He exclaimed excitedly. Yamato shrugged. “I guess that would be the case, yeah.” He said. The others nodded, though Riku was very skeptical that it was as simple as that. 

“Then, shall we check it out?” Iori asked. “Check out what?” Tamaki asked. Iori facepalmed. “The unrenovated rooms, to see if she’s in any of them.” He said, a deadpan expression on his face as he stared his classmate down. “Oh…” Was all Tamaki responded with. 

“I suppose it could be worth a try, though we shouldn’t be in there for too long, and we have to be careful where we step, we don’t know how good shape the building is in inside these rooms.” Mitsuki said as he walked over to the door Iori had opened up earlier, carefully entering the dusty room. 

The rest all entered as well, one by one, but when it was only Riku left, Iori stopped him before he could enter. “This place is very dusty, maybe you should wait for us out here?” Iori suggested. Riku looked almost afraid at that suggestion. “No!” He exclaimed, only afterwards did he realize that he had said it a lot louder than he had originally intended to, making everyone stare at him. “Please, don’t leave me out here alone! I’ve got my inhaler with me! And I can use a napkin to cover my nose and mouth!” He said. 

Iori sighed but stepped out of the way, allowing the other to enter. “Fine, but the moment your condition starts acting up, you’re getting out of here.” He said sternly. Riku nodded, but then hesitated a bit. He looked up at Iori shyly. “When that happens, will you go out with me? I really don’t want to be alone here.” He said quietly. 

Iori smiled and nodded before grabbing Riku’s hand, showing the older boy that he would be there for him, no matter what. Riku returned the smile, and then the two followed their groupmates into the unused part of the mansion. 

The room was quite big compared to the other ones they’d seen. It was asymmetrical and the walls really didn’t make any sense. There was no door or windows at all in there, despite the room being so big. They also didn’t find any trace of Chiharu, and so, they decided that it would be best to leave. 

However, when going back, Riku suddenly lost his footing and collapsed onto the floor. He started coughing as his fall had stirred up quite a bit of dust. In a matter of seconds, Iori was kneeling by his side, searching Riku’s pockets for his inhaler. Once he found it, he immediately made Riku use it, and soon the center had calmed down considerably. 

“Are you okay? What happened?” Iori asked worriedly. Riku smiled weakly at the younger. “I’m fine, a lot better now. I think the floor was uneven, and it made me stumble.” He said. The others then proceeded to shine the light from their respective smartphones onto the floor where Riku had collapsed and discovered that it wasn’t just an uneven piece of floor. 

“Is that… A trap door?” Sougo asked in disbelief as they looked at the square, door-looking thing in the middle of the room. Slowly, Riku reached out, grabbed the handle, and in one big movement he pulled the trapdoor open. What they saw inside was a ladder leading down into another room, but it was too dark to see what was in it. 

“Amazing…” Yamato started. “It’s a hidden room.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A secret room... I wonder what could be inside? Next chapter, which will be out on Thursday, will pick up where this one left off! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you're looking forward to the next! ^^ Thank you for reading, and thank you even more for leaving kudos and comments! <3<3<3


	7. Day 3, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IDOLiSH7 explore the hidden room they found last time. What could be hiding down there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit later than usual, but I'm back with the new chapter! I hope you all like this update, enjoy! <333  
If you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can either find me on twitter: @EFagerhag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

“Are you serious? There’s a hidden room? What the hell is up with this place?” Mitsuki asked, running his hands through his hair in both annoyance and confusion. “Well, should we take a look?” Sougo asked, eyeing the rest of the guys. “I am NOT going down there! It looks super scary!” Tamaki exclaimed, adamant in not taking a single step closer to the newfound room.

Iori sighed but nodded. “I definitely think it’s worth checking it out, but Nanase-san and I will stay up here with Yotsuba-san.” He said. Riku looked over at Iori with a pout on his face. “Why are you deciding that for me?” He asked. Iori just rolled his eyes. “You just fell over and almost had an attack, you’re in no state to be rummaging through a hidden room right now. I’ll stay with you, so let’s wait out here.” Iori explained, a small smile on his lips to try and console Riku. 

Riku felt a bit disappointed that he couldn’t see for himself what the hidden room was like, but a part of him also felt relieved. With everything that was going on right now, not having to look through creepy secret rooms and stay outside with your boyfriend (and friend) instead felt kind of good. He nodded. “I guess you’re right.” He said and smiled weakly at Iori before he stood up and, with Iori in tow, joined Tamaki standing a bit away from the trapdoor. 

“Okay, so who wants to go first?” Mitsuki asked, looking expectantly at the other three one at a time. No one seemed especially eager to go in there, even though they all agreed it was worth checking out. In the end, Yamato decided to do it. “As the oldest member, this Onii-san will go first.” He volunteered. The others nodded gratefully and then Yamato looked down into the room, sighed and then started his descent. 

About a minute later, Nagi walked over, just about to follow Yamato down into the dark room, but he was promptly stopped by Yamato. “You guys should stay up there!” He yelled out to them. Nagi, Sougo and Mitsuki looked taken aback. “What are you talking about? You shouldn’t go alone!” Mitsuki called out. 

“Even if you wanted to, I honestly don’t think you would have fit down here! The room is very small so just stay out there, I’ll be right back!” He explained. Realization dawned on the other three and they obediently stayed out of the room. About five minutes later, they could hear Yamato climbing back up the ladder that led down into the hidden room. 

Mitsuki and Nagi helped pulling Yamato up and out, after which he sat down on the floor and breathed a sigh of relief. The remaining six members all stared at him expectantly, wanting to know what had been down there. Yamato chuckled at their curious expressions, but obliged and told them about it soon enough. 

“It was a small rectangular room, probably only two times one meters or something. There was a small square table in there that took up most of the space, but that’s about it.” He explained. Iori frowned. “There wasn’t anything more?” He asked, sounding as disappointed as the rest of them looked. 

“Oh, there was one more thing!” Yamato then exclaimed before he held out a white piece of fabric, or at least it had probably been white at some point, now it was just dirty. “This was laying under the table.” He said. Riku curiously reached out and grabbed it, and after unfolding it, he found that it was an old coat. “Hey, it looks like a lab coat!” Tamaki exclaimed. 

“More like a doctors’ coat, look.” Riku said, showing a piece of the inside of the collar to the rest of them. “Property of Miyama Charity Hospital?” Mitsuki read out loud. “Isn’t that the hospital that was built and run by the family ancestors? You know, the original owners of the house.” Sougo asked. 

“That must be it.” Iori said while nodding and taking the coat into his own hands. “Ohashi-san mentioned that this place used to be a charity hospital, among other things, after all.” He continued before passing the coat onto the next person, so that they all could have a look at it. 

“This thing must have been down there for about a hundred years, considering when the hospital closed down.” Nagi pointed out. “It’s in surprisingly good shape for something that’s over a hundred years old.” Mitsuki added. They kept passing it around until it reached Tamaki, the final person to have a look. While he checked it out, Yamato decided to stand back up again. 

“Well, checking out a hidden room is fine and all, but maybe we should get back to looking for that Kaname girl.” He said. “That’s probably a good idea.” Sougo agreed. And so, the group started leaving the old, unrenovated room with the trapdoor behind. 

However, suddenly there was a loud exclamation from behind them. “Hey, I found something!” It was Tamaki that had called out, making the others turn back around. “What did you find, Yotsuba-san?” Iori asked. “This!” Tamaki said and proudly held out some money. 

“I was running out of pocket money, now I can buy some more pudding!” Tamaki exclaimed happily, though this exclamation made the other group members facepalm internally. “Tamaki-kun, if you found that inside of the coat, it’d be a hundred years old. You wouldn’t be able to use it.” Sougo explained. 

Tamaki blinked a couple of times, taking in this new piece of information, then his expression turned into one of disappointment. “Are you kidding me? So it’s useless? What a waste!” He said before dropping the now useless banknote on the ground. 

Seeing this, Riku walked over to him, then he bent down and picked the small piece of paper back up. “Rikkun, what are you doing? You know you can’t use it, right?” Tamaki asked, and once again, lots of internal facepalming happened. “I know, I just wanted to take a look at it.” Riku answered with a smile. 

“By the way, where did you find it?” Mitsuki asked Tamaki, who in turn looked at the shorter man. “In the coat.” He simply answered. Mitsuki gave the other a deadpan look. “I meant, where in the coat.” He stated. “Oh!” Tamaki exclaimed and smiled sheepishly. “It was in the left inner pocket!” 

“Hey, come look at this!” Riku then called out, making the others gather around him. “Did you find something?” Nagi asked curiously while peering over the redhead’s shoulder. Riku nodded. “There’s some sort of writing on it, but I can’t make sense of it…” He said. “Oh, is it in a different language? I’m good at languages, maybe I can help?” Nagi suggested. 

Riku looked at the blonde man and smiled, but also shook his head. “No, it’s in Japanese, so I technically can read it… It’s just that there are a few signs that have become illegible, and even then, the signs that I can read doesn’t make much sense…” He explained. “How do you mean? What does it say exactly?” Sougo asked confused. 

“Well…” Riku started before he lifted the money up closer to his face and squinted to see the tiny writing clearly. Then he started reading what it said out loud. “Out… Ura… To Listen… Die… All are… Re… Came…” 

Everyone was silent, all struggling to make heads or tails of what Riku had just read. “I have no idea what that was, but I do know what you meant by ‘it doesn’t make any sense’ now.” Yamato said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Can I see it?” Iori asked, after which Riku nodded and handed the piece of paper over to him. 

After a few minutes, Iori sighed and gave up. “Nope, I can’t make it into anything other than what you got. Maybe it would make more sense if we could see the smudged-out signs, but I even doubt that… It’s the order of the words that is wrong.” He said. “Could it maybe be a hidden message? Like, maybe they scrambled the words deliberately?” Nagi asked. 

Iori thought for a while. “It’s not impossible, I guess, but we probably wouldn’t be able to solve it anyway, since we don't know all the words.” He said. Nagi nodded, looking a bit disappointed. Behind them, Tamaki was once again looking like he was a bit scared of something. “Is no one else going to comment on the fact that the word ‘die’ was on there?” He asked worriedly. 

Sougo smiled awkwardly and tried his best to calm down Tamaki. “Let’s not make assumptions about what it could mean for now, okay?” He said. Tamaki was clearly still worried, but he nodded nonetheless. 

Then there was, once again, the sound of Riku’s phone going off. It was another text message from Yuka. “What does it say?” Mitsuki asked. “Nothing much.” Riku started. “She wondered if we had found anything.” He explained. “Maybe we should head back and let her and the others know about the old, unused rooms? That way we could ask Ohashi-san if he has a map of the building showing those areas as well.” Yamato suggested. 

The others nodded. “That sounds like a good idea.” Sougo agreed. “What are we going to do with the coat?” Tamaki asked, as he was the one who was still holding it. “I’ll take it! I want to check something later.” Riku said, reaching out and taking the coat from Tamaki, who just nodded. After that, IDOLiSH7 left the room and headed for the lobby, where Yuka and the others would be waiting for them. 

“A map showing the unrenovated parts of the hotel?” Ohashi-san questioned. They had all met up in the lobby now, it was soon time for lunch and the search would have to wait for now, as most of them had work to do all afternoon. However, right now they were all talking about what they’d found on their search that morning. 

“Yes, we stumbled upon one of them while looking for Chiharu-san, and we thought that if she was walking around without her glasses or lenses and accidentally ended up in one of those rooms, that might be the reason why we can’t find her. Nobody would think to look there, right?” Riku explained. 

Sougo took a step forward. “It could be dangerous to walk around those rooms blindly, so a map would really help.” He elaborated. Ohashi-san thought for a while, then shook his head. “I can see your point but I’m afraid I don’t have any. I could ask someone to send the original blueprints for the place, those should show everything. However, it would take a couple of days for those to arrive, do you still want me to do that?” He asked. 

Yuka nodded immediately. “Yes please.” She said. Ohashi-san nodded and then walked off towards his office, presumably to order those blueprints. Riku then turned to the now even more worried Yuka. “Did you find anything out while we were out looking?” He asked her, concern written all over his face. The other people present all wore similar expressions. 

“Well…” Yuka started. “I was calling around to the different bus and taxi companies around here, but none of them remembered picking up a passenger nearby that fit her description. I suppose she could have walked or hitchhiked, but like I said earlier, all of her stuff is still here, she wouldn’t just leave without it. I also called her home, all of her family members and her closest friends, but no one knew anything…” She explained. 

“Have you filed a missing persons report? If not, I think it’s about time you did that.” Yuki said, he and Momo had also returned some time ago. Yuka shook her head. “No, not yet. The others thinks I should wait until tomorrow morning. Plus, I’d hate to cause trouble for Ohashi-san, it’s the opening week of this place, wouldn’t it be really bad if it came out that someone went missing from it?” She asked in concern. 

“I’m pretty sure ruining opening week should be the least of your concerns…” Yamato said. Yuka nodded again. “Still, if nobody hears from her by tomorrow morning, I’ll contact the police. I’ll wait until then.” She said, the others nodded. Then they could see people start heading towards the cafeteria. None of the normal guests knew anything about the disappearance, and they didn’t want to alert them, so they all tried to act as nonchalant as possible until they had passed. 

Once they’d all passed, everyone sighed in relief. “Well, it’s about time for lunch, if we don’t go now we’re gonna be late for that performance this afternoon.” Sougo said to the rest of IDOLiSH7. And with that, they all headed off towards the restaurant, promising to continue to help with the search later. 

It was now evening, the afternoon had gone okay, considering everyone was a bit distracted thinking about everything that was going on, but it had ended without any incidents. Dinner finished a while ago and Riku was now walking up to Ogami Banri’s room. He knocked on the door, and soon it opened. “Riku-kun, what brings you here?” Banri asked calmly upon seeing the redhead outside his door. 

Riku smiled sweetly up at Banri. “I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you Banri-san. I was just wondering, you brought your laptop here, right? So that you could do some office work from here.” He asked. Banri nodded, though he looked a bit confused as to why Riku was asking this. “Well, I was wondering if I could borrow it for a minute? I just wanted to look something up… It’s okay if you don’t want to, I just thought I’d ask.” He said sheepishly. 

Banri smiled and opened his door wider. “It’s fine, just make sure you don’t accidentally delete something! I have most of my work on there, so it's rather important…” He explained. Riku nodded. “I won’t! Thank you so much!” He then said. 

Banri went over to the small table where he had his laptop and proceeded to unlock it. “I was actually just about to go out for a walk with Okazaki-san, so just help yourself. If I haven’t returned by the time you're finished you can just turn it off and leave it there on the table.” He said. Riku nodded and thanked the other once more, and then he was left alone. 

Riku had to look for a while, but soon found what he had been looking for. He read some articles and looked through all the information he could find but frowned at the results. Soon, he heard another knock on the door, at first, he was hesitant to open it, since he was still in Banri’s room right now. But in the end he decided that he should probably at least check who it was. Deciding that his research was done for now, he closed all of the tabs, turned off the computer and walked over to open the door for whoever was there. 

Turns out, it was the rest of IDOLiSH7. “Nanase-san? What are you doing in Ogami-san’s room?” Iori asked in shock once he saw who opened the door. “I was just borrowing his computer. Did you need him for something, because he went out for a walk with Okazaki-san a while ago. He should be back soon though!” Riku explained. 

“It wasn’t anything important. I’m more curious, what were you using the computer for?” Yamato asked, wiggling his eyebrows at the younger. Riku flushed red and scowled. He lightly punched Yamato’s arm and gave him a pout. “Whatever you’re thinking about, it’s not that!” He exclaimed. Yamato chuckled and then reached out to ruffle Riku’s hair. 

“Ignoring Yamato-san’s comment, I am actually curious what you were using the computer for…” Mitsuki said, interrupting Yamato and Riku. Riku used this chance to break free of Yamato’s hold and straighten out his hair. “Well, I…” Riku started, not sure how he would explain it. 

“Don’t tell me…” Nagi said, catching everyone’s attention. “Riku, you… Really were looking at something dirty like Yamato suggested?!” Nagi asked in a scandalized voice. “No! It’s not like that!” Riku yelled, his face once more flushing a bright red. Once he calmed down, he looked to the floor and rubbed his arms awkwardly. 

“I was just checking to see if there had been any other missing persons cases in this area in the past. You know, because of Chiharu-san still being gone and all... Turns out that there were two disappearances in this very building about twenty years ago.” He explained. The others looked at him in shock. “What?” A few of them asked in unison. 

Riku sighed and kept explaining. “About twenty years ago, an 18 year old, unemployed man named Matsunuma Hideki went missing after having entered this building. It was on the night of February 13th that he came here with seven of his friends in order to have a party. While they were partying in one of the rooms, he just staggered out and never returned.” Riku said. 

“Then, a week later when they filed a missing persons report, both police and volunteers came to search the place, but they couldn’t find any trace of Matsunuma-kun. When they were leaving, they noticed that a second person had gone missing. A 21 year old man who had been part of the search party. To this very day, these two are still considered missing and they never found any trace of where they went or what happened.” Riku finished explaining. 

The others were silent as they listened to Riku’s explanation. Once he was done, Nagi wondered aloud. “Isn’t that awfully similar to what happened with Chiharu-san? Not the whole police and search party thing, but she also went missing out of nowhere, and now there’s not a single trace of her.” 

Riku nodded, a grim expression on his face. “You don’t think it could be the same person responsible for these disappearances, right?” Sougo asked. Riku just shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea what to think… I just have this really weird feeling that there’s something very wrong about this place. Maybe making it into a hotel was a bad idea…” He said. 

And with that, the thought that this was all a part of something bigger had been planted in all of their minds. Things were growing more sinister, yet also more confusing by the minute. No one was able to imagine what sort of evil was lurking right around the corner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was that! Things are progressing, they find new clues and yet there are more questions created! Are you excoted for more? I'll be back with the next chapter sometime on Saturday, so look forward to that! Thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you to those of you who atke the time and leave kudos or comments! They mean the world to me! ^^


	8. Day 4, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iori and Riku wake up in the middle of the night by someone banging on their door, what news will they bring? And how will the search progress as it enters it second day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm back again! ^^ I hope you enjoy this update! If you have any questions or want to talk, you can either find me on my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

Everything was dark, there was not a single light in sight, and yet Riku had no trouble seeing himself. It was as if his body was emitting a light glow, but it was a glow that wouldn’t reach anything else. _‘What is this unsettling feeling I have?’_ He thought to himself. The air around him felt really thick, it was almost making him queasy.

Then, all of sudden there was another light. At first it was just a small blob in the distance, but soon it started to take the shape of something. A short while later, Riku could make out the shape of a person. The person started walking away and Riku was overcome with a sense of dread, as if something really, really bad was about to happen. 

Riku tried to call out to the person. “Hey, where are you going?!” He started with. There was no reply, the person didn’t even flinch at the sound of his voice. “Stop!” Riku yelled. The person kept walking away. “No… Don’t go there… Don’t!” Still no response. “Please, come back!” Riku yelled, but this time he also started following after them, though no matter how much he ran, he couldn’t catch up, they just kept shrinking as they got further and further away. 

Riku stopped to catch his breath. “If you go there…” He started, then he took another deep breath before yelling out. “Then something really terrible will happen!” Riku had no idea how he knew this, he just sort of did. Then, all of a sudden, Riku was startled awake by a loud banging noise. He sat up in the bed and just blinked for a few seconds, trying to process what was going on. Had he been dreaming? Who was that he saw walking away? Why did he feel like something bad was about to happen? 

That’s when he heard the banging sound again, this time he was awake enough to realize that it was coming from their door. In the other bed, Iori groaned, sat up and threw his legs over the side of the bed. He rubbed his eyes and checked the clock. “It’s 4:21 AM who the hell knocks on someone’s door at this time?” He murmured. Iori wouldn’t normally swear, but Riku knew Iori wasn’t a morning person, so it was understandable. 

With a sigh, Iori stood up and walked over to the door. Riku grabbed a jacket and wrapped himself in it, since he was feeling a bit cold, and then joined Iori by the door. The younger boy opened it up and was surprised to see a middle-aged man that neither of them recognized standing outside. “I’m so sorry to disturb your sleep.” The man said with a deep bow. Iori and Riku looked puzzled at each other, but soon gestured for the man to continue. 

“I was just wondering if you’ve seen Atsugi-kun? He’s my assistant, 21 years old, about as tall as the two of you, dark brown, curly hair, hazel eyes, glasses? We can’t find or get in contact with him, and we’ve had people out looking for a little over two hours now.” He explained. 

Iori and Riku both perked up upon hearing that another person had gone missing. They looked at each other worriedly, not entirely sure what to make of the situation. Iori soon turned back to the man outside their door and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we’ve been asleep until now.” Iori said. 

The man nodded. “That’s understandable. I’m so sorry to have disturbed. Here-” He started before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone and a small card. “is a photo of him.” He said and shoved his phone in their faces. A young man fitting the older man’s previous description was in the photo on the screen. “If you see him, please contact me on this number.” He then said before handing Iori a small card, Iori assumed it was the man’s business card. 

Iori and Riku both nodded before the man excused himself and left. The two closed the door behind him and looked at each other worriedly. “Does this mean a second person has gone missing?” Riku asked, looking slightly frightened. Iori shook his head, though he really didn’t look sure of himself. “We don’t know that yet. It seems as if this Atsugi-san has only been missing for about two hours, it doesn’t have to be the same as with Kaname-san.” He explained. 

Riku nodded and then both him and Iori started heading back towards their bed. However, on the way there, Riku had a sudden realization and stopped in his tracks. Iori turned back around once he noticed Riku wasn’t following him anymore. He looked at the other, concern in his eyes. “What if it’s our fault?” Riku whispered, his face hung low, vision locked on the ground by his feet. 

“What do you mean?” Iori asked, taking a few steps towards the other. “Things were fine before the séance, what if that is what upset them? It was only after the séance that people started disappearing... So, what if it’s all our fault?!” Riku asked, his voice getting more and more agitated as he went on. 

Iori shook his head. “That’s not it.” He said determinedly, his eyes locked onto Riku. The redhead started panting, his hands reaching up to grab at the front of his shirt. “You can’t say that though, can you? What if-” Riku started, but before he could continue Iori had already crossed the remaining space between them and pulled Riku into his embrace. 

“Don’t say anything more! It might not even have anything to do with spirits! Like we said this afternoon, Kaname-san probably wandered into the old, unused parts of the house and got lost! And as for this Atsugi-san, we don’t even know if he’s gone! It probably doesn’t even have anything to do with whatever possible spirits there are here!” Iori yelled, but Riku wasn’t having it. He tried to argue back, but Iori wouldn’t let him. 

“Besides, even if it was because of the spirit, didn’t you say you could sense them even before the séance? That means it probably had nothing to do with it! So stop blaming yourself, it’s not going to make anything better.” Iori said before pulling back, his hands still gripping Riku’s shoulders while he looked Riku in the face. 

Riku had unshed tears in his eyes, and his expression let Iori know that he was still thinking about it. The younger boy softened his expression before he leaned in closer and pressed a kiss the Riku’s forehead before whispering to him. “It’s not your fault.” Over and over again. 

Riku buried his head in the crook between Iori’s neck and shoulder, gripped the back of his shirt and started crying. Iori did his best to comfort his crying boyfriend, eventually moving them over to Riku’s bed. After a while, Riku had calmed down and fallen back to sleep. Iori decided to just sleep in Riku’s bed until morning came, just in case Riku woke up feeling bad. And so, they both went back to sleep. 

Morning came and everyone met back up in front of the restaurant. Yuka and the other girls from their band looked horrible, they had probably barely slept at all that night, which wasn’t that surprising considering the circumstances. Nothing new about Chiharu’s whereabouts had come up during the night, and the news about Atsugi-san’s disappearance was now a hot topic amongst the guests. 

The guests were slowly becoming a bit antsy, but they were honestly less worried than what Riku and the others had expected. After having had breakfast IDOLiSH7 had needed to do some work, but during the afternoon they went back to searching the house. They’d decided earlier that they would focus on the unrenovated parts of the house, searching the corridors and rooms for these places as they still didn’t have a map that showed them. 

The rooms they had found so far were all the same, very dusty and completely empty. Most of these places had two or three rooms that were connected, but in the end, they would have to go back out into the new parts and search for other rooms. There wasn’t really anything that connected the unused parts of the house. 

Right now, the group had finished searching their designated part of the second floor and where currently heading for the stairs that would take them up to the third floor in order to continue their search there. Yesterday, they had mostly focused on searching the first floor thoroughly, so today they were putting all their efforts into the second and third. And while they were doing this, the new people searching for Atsugi-san were mainly looking on the first. 

“So…” Riku started, having been wanting to bring up something about this whole situation for a while now. “Are we assuming that they really just stumbled upon an old, unused room and are now lost? The whole thing about kidnapping and sinister spirits is off the board?” He asked. 

The others looked back and forth between one another. “I mean…” Mitsuki started, not really sure what to say. That’s when Yamato stepped forward, putting a hand on Riku’s shoulder. “Look, I know you really feel strongly about the ghost theory, especially after that séance you guys did, but you have to admit, for those who can’t sense spirits, and never have been able to do that, something like people getting lost in a complicated building like this just makes more sense.” The bespectacled man tried to explain to the best of his abilities. 

“We’re not saying that your theory about the ghosts is wrong! It’s just that we have to think about what we can do right now, and even after the séance, I think looking through the old unused spaces might be for the best.” Sougo said next. Riku was clearly a bit upset by all of this, that much was visible from his expression alone, but he could still understand where his friends were coming from. 

Riku forced a small smile on his face. “No, I get it. I’m sorry for being annoying about it, I really do get that it can be hard to believe. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about it.” He said sheepishly before he started walking again, this time making sure to stay a little bit ahead of the others. 

Riku wasn’t a difficult person to read, they could all see that he was upset, but that he was also trying not to show it. Iori sighed and said, “I got it.” Then he increased his pace a bit in order to catch up with the redhead, making sure that he wasn’t working himself up about this. 

For about a minute, the two just walked next to each other in silence. Then, Iori spoke up. “You know they don’t mean to doubt you, right?” He asked calmly. Riku sighed and buried his hands deep into the pockets of the yellow hoodie he was wearing. “I know that, and I really don’t blame you guys for this! I know that it can be hard to believe something like this when you can’t see or feel it for yourself. Heck, even if I can see it, it was a long time until I learned to believe what it actually was.” Riku said. 

“You know…” Riku started. “The first time I saw a ghost, I wasn’t scared at all. It’s not that I wasn’t scared of ghosts, I just didn’t realize that the thing I had just talked to was one. Once I realized it I got really spooked though, then I denied it for a while… Anyway, my point is that I get that it’s hard to believe! So I’m not angry with you for discarding it!” He explained. 

Iori nodded. “Then what’s the problem? I can tell that your still upset.” He stated. Riku looked away. “I don’t know, I guess I’m irritated with myself for letting it get to me so much? I’ve just been a bit on edge since we arrived, it’s this place, it’s making me feel unsettled.” Riku said. 

They reached the stairs and while they were walking up to the third floor, Iori was going to say something more to Riku, however, he was interrupted by an exclamation from Nagi. “Hey, there’s a door here at the side of the staircase!” He said and pointed to where he found it. Iori and Riku turned around and were shocked to see that the stairs had been built on top of a door, making it so that only the top part of it was visible over the steps. 

“Does it open?” Tamaki asked curiously. “I don’t know, guess it won’t hurt to try.” Nagi said as he sat down in front of the door, turned the handle and pushed. The door was stuck pretty badly, which was probably a result of the stairs having been built to cover the bottom part of it. With some force however, Nagi finally got the door to open. 

Nagi and Mitsuki, who were closest to the opening shone their lights inside. “It’s another old room, but considering how the door was stuck, I really doubt anyone could have gotten inside.” Nagi said. The others nodded, they had seen for themselves how much force Nagi had had to use, so they all knew what he meant. 

“Should we check it out anyway or leave it?” Iori asked. “I guess it won’t hurt to check? It looks like it’s only one fairly small room, I don’t think there were any doors leading into other rooms inside, so checking it out would be quick.” Mitsuki suggested. 

Yamato sighed. “I guess this is another job for Onii-san.” He said as he walked over to the opening. Sitting with his legs hanging off the edge, Yamato soon jumped into the newfound room. “Is there anything in there?” Sougo asked, though neither of the members really believed they would find anything, considering all the other rooms they’d seen today had been empty. 

“Nope, this one is just as empty as the-” Yamato started, but he never finished the sentence. The others could see him staring at something, but they couldn’t tell what as it seemed to be on the same wall as the door was. “What’s wrong?” Mitsuki asked in slight concern. 

“The room wasn’t empty after all…” Yamato said and gulped. “There’s a huge portrait hanging on the wall!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter was a bit short and not that much happened, but I hope you were able to enjoy it nonetheless! The story is about to get more interesting in the next chapter though, so look forward to that! It will be out on Monday! ^^ Thank you so much for reading, as well as for supporting me by leaving kudos and comments, etc. <3<3<3


	9. Day 4, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The painting Yamato found leads to some new clues about the mansion coming to light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am once again back with a new chapter! The mystery about what is going on at the hotel is unravelling more and more! I hope you will all enjoy this chapter! If you have any questions or want to talk to me about this fic, ainana or anything else, you can either contact me on twitter: @EFagerhag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

It wasn’t long until the remaining members of IDOLiSH7 had managed to pull Yamato back out of the room they’d found adjacent to the staircase. Under one arm, Yamato held the painting he’d found inside the room, so that the others could see it for themselves without having to go in there. Yamato held it out and Iori was the one who grabbed it, holding it so that everyone could see.

The painting was indeed a portrait of a man, he looked very pale, had a slim face, small eyes with bags underneath and dark, combed back hair. He wore a rather fancy suit, suggesting that he was probably a quite rich person. “Who do you think the man on the painting is?” Sougo asked curiously. 

All eyes turned to Yamato, who simply blinked in confusion. “Don’t look at me! How would I know? I just found the painting.” He said. “Sometimes, this information would be recorded on the bottom or the back of the painting.” Nagi pointed out, after which Iori proceeded to turn the painting around, and it turned out that there was indeed writing on the back. 

After looking on it more closely, Iori concluded. “It says ‘Meiji 32, March. Self-portrait of Urado.’” He said. “So the man in the painting is named Urado? And it was drawn in Meiji 32, so that would be 1899, right?” Mitsuki wanted to confirm. The others nodded. 

“But who was Urado? What was his connection to the Miyama family?” Riku asked, mostly to himself. “The portrait is richly decorated, and the painting looks expensive, could it be a member of the Miyama family? We only know the name of the founder, Miyama Kaneyuki, right?” Nagi speculated. 

“It’s definitely a possibility.” Yamato agreed. “You could always ask Ohashi-san, maybe he would know.” He then continued, earning nods from both Riku and Nagi. It was then that Riku realized something, he turned to Iori and pointed at the painting. “Can I see the writing on the back again?” He asked. 

Iori looked a bit confused, but still nodded and showed it to Riku. “The name ‘Urado’ is quite odd, right? It’s very uncommon, I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone being named that before. But this,” He started and pointed to the first character in the name. “The character for ‘Ura’, I recognize it!” He said. 

“Well, even if the name is uncommon, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the characters used are. You’ve probably seen it dozens of times.” Yamato suggested. Riku shook his head. “No, not like that. I recognize it from something I saw recently.” He explained, and then he pulled out a small piece of paper that he had kept in his pocket. 

Upon a closer inspection, the others recognized the piece of paper as the money that Tamaki had found in the old doctor’s coat from the other day. “You’re still carrying that around with you?” Mitsuki asked. Riku nodded. “I couldn’t get the writing out of my head, so I brought it with me in case I came up with something, and I think I just did. Here.” Riku said and held out the money for the others to see. 

Riku pointed at one of the characters. “This is the same character, it’s ‘Ura’, and if you look closely at the character beside it, the one that’s sort of smudged out and really hard to read, couldn’t it be the ‘do’ from ‘Urado’?” He asked. The others looked closely at the writing and agreed that it indeed was the character for ‘do’. 

“So, if that character is ‘do’, then the you would read this as ‘Out – Urado – By- Were – To – Listen – Die – All – Re – Came’?” Sougo asked. Everyone was quiet for a while and then Mitsuki loudly exclaimed. “ARGH! It still doesn’t make any sense! The only thing we learned is that it might mention the guy on the painting!” He complained. 

Yamato sighed. “Maybe it really is just a bunch of characters written together randomly?” He asked. “You still don’t see it?” Riku asked, making the others look at him in confusion. “See what, Rikkun?” Tamaki asked. 

Riku grabbed the paper piece back and held it up. “The ‘do’ is written to the left of ‘Ura’, wouldn’t that make it ‘Doura’?” He asked. “ARGH!” Mitsuki yelled out again. “Did you really just manage to make it more complicated?!” He then asked. 

Riku smiled apologetically and shook his head. “Not at all, I think I just made more sense of it.” He said. “Explain then, because none of us sees how you have managed to make sense of it...” Yamato told him while rubbing the back of his head. Riku nodded. “If we assume this was written around the same time as that painting was made, wouldn’t that mean it was written during the Meiji era? And wasn’t horizontal reading done from right to left back then?” He asked and watched as realization dawned on all the others. 

“So you’re supposed to read the entire message from right to left?” Sougo asked, now more intrigued. Riku nodded again. “So, with the gaps it would be something like this…” Riku said before he grabbed a small notepad and a pen he had brought and started writing down. By the end it looked like this: “_ _ came _ re are all _ listen to _ Urado _ _ out.” 

“Wow, it’s actually starting to look like a message now!” Yamato said in awe as he patted Riku on the back. “Good job realizing that!” He then said with a grin, making Riku smile back sheepishly in return. Iori was the next one to speak. “Now, if we could just read the smudged-out characters, we’d have the complete message.” He said. 

“Actually…” Riku started, once again making the others look at him in anticipation. “With the parts of the message we can see, and the bits of the smudged-out characters that are sort of visible, I think I might have idea of what it says, but…” Riku said. The others blinked at him, eager for him to continue. “But?” Nagi asked, urging Riku to go on. 

Riku sighed. “It looks like it says, ‘Those who came here are all dying.’ in the beginning of the message.” He said with a grim expression. Realization dawned on the others. Riku kept going. “If this is really the case, then if we ignore the middle characters, since those are the hardest to read, and instead focus on the blanks at the end, wouldn’t this be a message to others who came here? ‘The ones who came here are all dying. Get out.’ Is what it would say.” 

After a few seconds of silence to take this new piece of information in, the other IDOLiSH7 members started discussing the true meaning behind the message. In the meantime, Riku had so many questions that he wanted an answer to, and so, he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

Riku went over to grab the painting that Iori had leaned against the wall some time back and then turned to the others. “You guys should keep searching for Chiharu-san without me.” He said. “What are you going to do?” Iori asked in concern. Riku smiled up at him. “I was thinking of asking Ohashi-san about a few things, including the portrait. But we shouldn’t stop searching just because of this, so I can go by myself.” He said. 

Iori was a bit reluctant to let Riku go off by himself, even if he was only going to Ohashi-san’s office, which wasn’t that far away. In the end, Riku did manage to convince Iori to continue the search with the rest of the group as Riku headed off towards Ohashi-san’s office alone. 

It only took him a few minutes to reach it, and once he was there, Riku knocked on the door. He could hear a muffled sound from the other side, but couldn’t make out what exactly it was. Riku assumed he was told to come in, so that’s what he did. What he found inside was an exhausted looking Ohashi-san, sat at his desk with his head buried in the palms of his hands. 

“Oh, I’m sorry if this is a bad time, I thought you said to come in, but I could come back later if now is no good…” Riku said, feeling a bit bad for the older man as he looked so stressed. Ohashi-san shook his head and then looked up to meet Riku’s gaze. He gave him a week smile, but Riku could see the bags under his eyes. “No, no, it’s fine. Please, do sit down, Nanase-kun.” He said and gestured to the sofa in front of his desk. 

Riku nodded and sat down. “If you don’t mind me asking, how are you feeling?” Riku asked in concern. Seeing the other man’s bad state made Riku take sympathy on him, which was also why he waited a bit with his own questions. 

Ohashi-san sighed. “It’s these damn disappearances. The guests are getting more and more antsy by the minute, some have even started talking about leaving! I can’t say I blame them though… Why does this have to happen?” He complained. “It’s been so many years… Nothing happened for so long, why now?” He continued, and this made Riku perk up. 

“Excuse me, Ohashi-san, when you say that nothing has happened for so long, does that mean that something like this happened here in the past?” Riku asked curiously. “Well…” Ohashi-san started. “There were two people who went missing here in the past, but that was decades ago. And I suppose there was a quite sinister history to this place back from the time when the Miyama family still used it.” He explained. 

“But it’s been so peaceful lately! Kids even used the driveway and the garden surrounding the building as a playground up until I started renovations! And none of those kids ever went missing or got hurt.” Ohashi-san said. This made Riku think. _‘If kids were playing right outside the house, does that mean the danger is only inside?’_

“Ohashi-san.” Riku interrupted the other’s mumbling, making him look up at the redhead. “If it’s not a bother, could you tell me a bit about the Miyama family and what happened here in the past?” Riku requested. Ohashi-san sighed. “I really shouldn’t…” He started, but upon seeing the determined look on Riku’s face he seemingly changed his mind. 

“Okay, I’ll tell you.” He said, and Riku shone with delight upon his answer. “But take it with a grain of salt, it all happened a long time ago, and I only heard the stories second-hand. Also, could you please keep this between us? I don’t want this getting out, causing an uproar.” He said. Riku nodded and assured him he wouldn’t tell the other guests. 

“Well then, let’s start talking a bit about Miyama Kaneyuki-sama, is that fine?” Ohashi-san asked. Riku nodded. “That’s the original owner of this place, right?” Riku asked and Ohashi-san confirmed it. “That’s right. It seems he was a quite fastidious man, apparently there was even an incident in the past where one of the workers at the silk spinning factory was caught falsifying his wages, it created a huge scandal.” 

“At first, Kaneyuki-sama only fired said worker… But that worker’s eldest son also worked in that factory, and it created all sorts of rumors. The worker’s third son worked in the hospital and the house they lived in was also owned by Kaneyuki-san. In the end, he forced all of them to quit and move out. Plus…” Ohashi-san kept going and Riku couldn’t help but think _‘There’s more?’_

“The house where that same worker’s daughters and son’s wives lived was also owned by Kaneyuki-sama, so they were eventually forced out too. He basically ended up kicking out a whole bunch of people, causing an even bigger scandal.” Ohashi-san explained. “How cruel…” Riku commented. “He was so ruthless.” He said and Ohashi-san simply nodded. 

“Kaneyuki-sama’s popularity plummeted after that and he retired into this mountain villa alone. He did have servants, but they came to work from another area. And so, because he kept almost everyone away… rumors started spreading that there was some sort of suspicious activity happening here in this mansion.” 

“It was at this time that one of Kaneyuki-sama’s sons, Miyama Hideyuki-sama became more and more worried. Hideyuki-sama is my wife’s grandfather, and the one who took over ownership of this place after the death of Kaneyuki-sama. He was also the one who authorized all of those renovations made to the house, and people used to gossip about the reason for this.” 

Riku nodded, now very intrigued in the story. “What sort of gossip was it?” He asked. “They said that spirits appeared here. And so they believed that the renovations were to shut the spirits in… To trap them inside of the house.” Ohashi-san explained. Riku gulped. _‘Trapped spirits?’_

“In the end, there’s no way to know whether these rumors were true or not. Hideyuki-sama passed away without ever telling anyone about the reason for his constant renovating. However, when he lay in his deathbed, his last words were for everyone to stay out of this house. That it was a place of evil, and that it should remain empty forever.” Ohashi-san then said, a guilty expression on his face. 

“If you knew about this, why did you want to open it up to the public again?” Riku asked. Ohashi-san sighed. “I didn’t know at first, not the full story. I was advised against doing this at first by some of the older relatives, but it wasn’t until about a year ago that I learned all of this. And then construction was already going smoothly. Besides, nothing bad had happened to anyone while we were working here! I guess I assumed it was fine since it had been so long…” He explained. 

Riku nodded, he could understand Ohashi-san a bit better now. “Ohashi-san, I have another question for you, if that’s okay?” Riku said. Ohashi-san nodded and gestured for Riku to go on and ask it. “Do you know if Kaneyuki-sama had any friends? More specifically, if he knew a person named ‘Urado’?” Riku asked. 

Ohashi-san looked confused, so Riku decided to pull out the painting and show him. “It’s the person in this portrait.” Riku explained. A surprised look took over Ohashi-san’s features. “But that is a portrait of Kaneyuki-sama himself. Where on earth did you get it?” Ohashi asked. 

Riku blinked in surprise. The person in the portrait was Miyama Kaneyuki? Not Urado? What did this mean? “Oh, well it was inside one of the older rooms we searched while looking for Chiharu-san. I was a bit curious about it is all.” Riku explained. 

Ohashi-san nodded and then he realized something. “Wait, you mentioned Urado? Now that I think about it, I think that was Kaneyuki-sama’s pen name!” He exclaimed. Riku’s eyes widened. _‘So Miyama Kaneyuki and Urado are the same person?’_ He thought to himself. Riku then abruptly stood up. 

“Thank you so much, Ohashi-san! You were a great help, and I really hope everything will work out for you. I have to get going now, but I’m really glad I came to ask you about this.” Riku said with a smile. Ohashi-san looked a bit taken aback by the abruptness of this, but he nodded and gave a weak smile in return. 

“It was no problem at all. In fact, it felt kind of good to get it off my chest. You’re a good listener, Nanase-kun.” He said and held out his hand for Riku to shake. Riku shook it and then he grabbed the painting and left the office. It was time for dinner, but Riku didn’t feel very hungry, so instead he went over to his and Iori’s bedroom. 

Once he was there, he placed the portrait on the floor, started walking back and forth and tried to make sense of all these new things he had learned. “So, it turns out that the painting we found really was of Kaneyuki-sama. And Urado is just a different name for the same person. The money we found also mentioned Urado…” Riku mumbled out loud to himself. 

“Those who came here are all dying” Riku repeated the writing on the money. “’Here’ must refer to this mansion! The middle part would be something like ‘Listen to Urado’, so did he have something to do with the people who came here dying?” Riku speculated. 

“Then there was that séance we did… The words of the spirit we summoned… ‘Help’… Could it be…” Riku started. “That was the spirit of someone who came here a long time ago and died... Even if it’s a hundred years, are they still stuck here?” He thought. It was difficult to make sense of, but Riku was really starting to doubt that Chiharu and Atsugi had just wandered of and gotten lost. He was sure there was something more sinister at work here in this house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting interesting, or what do you say? I hope you all enjoyed this and that you're excited for more. The next chapter will be uploaded on Wednesday, followed by an extra update on Thursday! (Beacuse it's halloween!) Thank you so much for reading! And also thank you for supporting me and this fanfic, it really means a lot to me! <3


	10. Day 5, Part 1 (Night)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night falls, and suddenly Riku is overcome with a strange sensation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, sorry for being a bit later than usual, but I'm back with a new chapter! I hope you enjoy this chapter! If you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can either do so on my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

Later that evening, after having finished dinner, Iori was relieved to find Riku in their shared room upon his return. When the center hadn’t met them for dinner, they had all been a bit worried, what with the multiple disappearances lately. Their worries had increased when he also didn’t respond to any of their calls or texts.

Riku had proceeded to apologize furiously again and again once he realized that he had forgotten to tell them he’d gone back to the room. He had been a bit distracted to say the least. Riku wanted to tell Iori everything there was about what he’d heard from Ohashi-san that afternoon but was a bit torn on whether or not he should, since Ohashi-san had asked him to keep this from the others. 

Riku decided to wait for a little bit, he would most likely have to tell Iori and the others at some point, especially if he wanted to make them believe his theory about the ghosts. But for now, he wanted some more time to collect his own thoughts before he went and pushed them onto others. And so, night came and Iori and Riku went to bed. 

Riku lay in his bed, looking up at the ceiling while thinking about everything that had happened. Why did people keep disappearing in this house? What happened to them? The people in the past probably died, does that mean that Chiharu-san and Atsugi-san are also…dead? What did Miyama Kaneyuki, Urado, have to do with all of it? 

All of a sudden, a weird sensation took over his body. Riku couldn’t move, it was as if he was paralyzed, stuck staring up at the ceiling. His heart was beating fast and there was a painful ringing in is ears. _‘What’s going on?’_ Riku thought to himself. He tried calling out to Iori, who was still sleeping in the next bed, but his voice wouldn’t come out. 

Then there was the sound of the door slowly creaking open. _‘But we locked the door before going to sleep, I'm sure of it! How does it open?’_ Riku could slowly turn his head around to face the door, and when he did he saw that it was now fully opened. And not only that, in the opening there stood two unfamiliar men. _‘Who are you?!’_ He wanted to yell out, but his voice still wouldn’t cooperate. 

The two strange men slowly started approaching his bed and Riku wanted to yell at them to stay away, but it was useless no matter how hard he tried. It was as if he was no longer in control of his own body. Riku felt four strong hands take ahold of his upper arms as he was lifted out of the bed by the men, who then proceeded to drag him out of the room. 

Riku turned his head around and looked at Iori, who was still sleeping despite everything that was happening. In his head, Riku would call out to him. _‘Help me! Iori, wake up! They’re taking me! No, stop! Help, Iori!’_ But soon the door to his and Iori’s room closed and he was alone with the two men as they were dragging him through the corridors of the mansion. Some parts Riku recognized and some parts he had no recollection of. 

Then Riku realized something. _‘It’s different! The mansion looks different that it usually does!’_ And it was true. Most parts looked similar, but others were completely changed. He was currently being taken through a part of the house that he and the others had looked through when searching the old parts of the mansion, but right now those rooms were fully furnished. _‘What is going on?’_ Riku thought. 

He was soon taken into a room with a lit fireplace, and in front of it there was an armchair and a small round table with a glass on it. The glass was filled with some sort of dark liquid that Riku assumed was red wine. Still, this scene only made him think of one thing. _‘Was there someone here just now? Who would be using this part of the mansion?’_

The two men kept moving, not giving Riku any time to dwell on what he’d just seen. They opened a door that was in the corner of the room with the fireplace, and then a long, concrete corridor stretched out before them. _‘No… I don’t want to go any farther!’_ Riku thought as the men dragged him through the long pathway. 

Soon, the ground beneath Riku’s bare feet changed. It was no longer a cold concrete floor, it was gravel. Riku looked around and noticed that it almost looked as if they were outside. There were tall hedges surrounding them and the ground was made up of dirt and gravel. However, if it wasn’t for the fact that he could see the ceiling above them, he really would have believed they were outside. 

It was while he was being dragged through the seemingly endless labyrinth of sorts that Riku suddenly had a thought. _‘Is this another dream? It feels sort of like the other dreams I’ve had here… But then why can’t I wake up?’_ Riku closed his eyes and silently begged. _‘Please, just let me wake up!’_

When he next opened his eyes, the men had stopped moving momentarily. Riku was left staring at a door. He couldn’t see the surroundings very clearly, but the door was as visible as if it had been the middle of the day. The men opened the door and Riku was suddenly hit with an overpowering stench. 

_‘What is this? It’s so strong… It smells like… Kind of like… Blood! It’s so strong I feel like I’m going to pass out!’_ Riku’s heart was beating faster and faster, he had a really bad feeling about where this was going. Other than the overwhelming stench of blood, the place he was in looked like a fairly normal home. A living room to be more exact. _‘Could this be the original home of the Miyama family? The part of the mansion that was finished in 1877…’_ Riku thought. 

They kept moving and soon reached a set of stairs, once up on the second floor they proceeded to another long hallway. At the end of the hallway Riku could see a green metal door that was lit up almost like the door at the end of the maze earlier. Riku suddenly felt like whatever was behind that door was something unimaginably horrible. 

_‘No, Don’t! Not that room… That room is terrifying! I don’t want to go in there… It’s scary… Stop!’_ The door opened and Riku was dragged inside. The new room they had entered was completely covered in tiles. Buckets and numerous strange tools littered the floor and there was a big metallic table in the center of the room with thick leather straps hanging off the sides. In one of the corners of the room there was also a single bathtub, filled to the brim with a dark liquid. Suddenly Riku had an idea of where the scent of blood was coming from. 

The two men that had dragged him all the way there suddenly let go, only to grab onto the collar of his pajama shirt and violently tuck it off of Riku’s body. When he looked down, Riku was surprised to not be met by his bare torso, instead he was wearing a plain white kimono. _‘Where did this kimono come from?’_ He thought to himself. 

He was pushed forward, and his bare feet stepped in something cold, wet and sticky. Looking down, Riku saw that he was currently stood in a puddle of the same dark liquid as the one that filled the bathtub. He wanted to puke but he didn’t get a chance to as someone grabbed the back his head by the hairs and started pulling him back towards the metal table in the center of the room. 

He was forced down onto the table and the leather straps attached to the sides were used to bind him in place. Riku’s head hung off the edge of the table, which was rather sharp and cut into the back of his neck. Riku felt shivers run down his spine and his entire body turning cold as he heard the drip drop of his own blood falling onto the ground. The cut wasn’t deep, but it still stung quite a bit. 

The two men slowly approached the table, this time one of them had a big knife in his hand. Riku stared at the object with wide, terrified eyes. _‘This is just a dream. It’s fine, because it’s a dream. I should hurry and wake up already.’_ He thought to himself. Then he heard it for the first time. 

“I don’t want to die.” 

A man’s voice, seemingly coming from nowhere and yet everywhere at once. One of the two men, the one that wasn’t holding the knife, had now reached the table. He grabbed ahold of Riku’s hair, pulling his head back, thus making Riku wince in pain and fully expose his neck. 

“I don’t want to die.” 

The strange voice could be heard again, this time it was closer but Riku still couldn’t tell where exactly it was coming from. The second man, the one with the knife now also made it to the table Riku was strapped to. 

“I don’t want to die.” 

The voice now enveloped Riku, it was right there, but it still came from every direction. The man without the knife tightened his hold on Riku’s hair and the one with the knife slowly brought it up to Riku, the cold blade lightly grazing his neck. _‘Come on, wake up! Wake up!’_ Riku cried out desperately inside his own head. He could now feel the knife begin to cut into his flesh and realized he was screaming, even though he couldn’t hear it. _‘It can’t be… Please, no!’_

“I don’t want to die.” 

The last thing Riku knew was that the voice was now whispered right into his ear, there was a sharp pain in his neck, his body grew cold and then everything went black. 

Suddenly, Riku regained some semblance of consciousness, and his first instinct was to scream. “KYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” His eyes were wide open, his breathing labored and there were tears running down his face as he kept screaming. Then, someone called out his name. “Riku!” Riku turned around and saw a bewildered and extremely worried Iori standing by his bed and looking down on him from above. 

Riku felt what little remained of his walls crumble, so he pushed himself up, grabbed ahold of Iori’s shirt, pulled the other man closer, wrapped his arms around his shoulders and just started weeping, loudly and full of emotions. Iori could do nothing but return the embrace, rubbing his hands up and down Riku’s back in a calming motion while making sure he had his inhaler nearby. 

There were loud knocks on the door, making Riku jump, the memories of his dream coming back vividly. Iori started getting up to open the door when Riku pulled him back down. “No! Don’t open the door!” He pleaded. “Nanase-san…” Iori said, pity in his eyes as he looked at the frightened boy. 

Whoever was outside the door knocked again, making Riku flinch for the second time since waking up. This time, however, the knocks were accompanied by a voice. “Iori? What’s going on in there?” It was Mitsuki’s voice, and it sounded very worried. Riku’s scream must have been loud enough to wake up everyone who had slept nearby. 

Iori looked Riku in the eyes, grabbing his face and drying his tears before giving him a calm smile. “It’s just Nii-san, is it okay if I open the door then?” Iori asked. Riku looked a bit uncertain at first, but when there was another knock, this time followed by the voice of Kujou Tenn, also asking what had happened, Riku nodded. 

While Iori walked over to open the door, Riku grabbed his inhaler from the table and used it to try and calm down. It only helped a little bit. Riku looked at the clock while calming down, it was only 1:03 AM. Soon, people piled into the room, all with worried expressions. Tenn was the first inside, quickly making his way over to Riku’s bed, sitting down and wrapping his arms around his brother. 

“We heard the scream, what happened?” Sougo asked, looking at the crying Riku. The others all wondered the same thing. Iori was about to answer when Riku beat him to it. “A dream…” He said quietly, catching all of their attentions. “I had… A terrifying dream…” He said, a bit clearer this time. 

There was a collective sigh of relief as they all realized that there was no actual danger involved. “So, it was just a dream? Geez, you scared the crap out of us with that awful scream. We thought somebody was being murdered.” Gaku said rubbing the back of his head. 

“I was…” Riku said. “You were what?” Yamato asked, wearing a similar confused expression compared to everybody else in the room. “Being murdered. In the dream.” Riku clarified. Riku took a deep breath, that was still a bit shaky and then started explaining his dream in more detail. 

“Uhm… These two strange men came in and they grabbed me. I couldn’t speak or move… And they dragged me off to this room covered with strange tiles. It was completely drenched with blood… Then they put me on an operating table, and I was tied down. Then, with a large knife… They cut my throat… I can still feel the sensation, smell the blood, I can-” Riku was interrupted by Iori sitting down beside him and grabbing his hand. 

“It’s okay, you can stop now. Sorry for making you remember that.” He said. Riku looked down at his own lap and nodded, gripping Iori’s hand tighter. The door to the room opened again, and this time the smell of tea accompanied whoever had decided to enter. Looking up, Riku saw Tsumugi and Banri standing there with sympathetic smiles, Tsumugi holding a cup of what appeared to be newly brewed tea. 

She walked over and handed Riku the steaming mug. “Here, there’s some honey in there too, hopefully it can help you calm down.” She said, a kind smile on her face. Riku smiled in return. “Thank you.” He answered, and he really meant it. Tsumugi and Banri left shortly after that, having made sure that everybody was fine. But the rest stayed for a little while longer. 

“You know…” Riku started once he had finished his tea and put the cup away. He was now feeling a bit better and both his voice and breathing had returned to normal. “I don’t think it was a normal dream…” He said. Iori sighed. “Stop it. You shouldn’t think about it anymore, or else you might just work yourself up and have another attack.” He reprimanded. 

Riku pouted. “It’s not like that! Just hear me out, okay? It wasn’t a normal dream!” He exclaimed. “What do you mean by that?” Sougo asked curiously. “I think what I saw was someone’s memories. The memories of someone who died here in the past.” Riku said, shocking everyone. 

After that, Riku explained to TRIGGER and Re;vale about the money they’d found in the old doctor’s coat, the message on it, and the painting. Then he started telling them all about his talk with Ohashi-san and what he’d concluded from what he was told. The others were stunned, it really was quite a story. 

“There must have been multiple people in the past that went missing and were then killed in here. In my dream, the moment I was taken outside of this room, the house was different. I mean, it was obviously the same house, but some of the decorations and furniture were different. I was taken to a room that we searched earlier, one of the old ones, and it was both clean and fully furnished. That’s why I think what I saw was something that happened a long time ago, when people still lived here.” Riku explained. 

Iori sighed. “So, you still think this, the disappearances and everything that is happening right now, is all because of ghosts? Ghosts of those that might have murdered people here in the past?” He asked. Riku nodded. “It makes sense, right?” He said. 

The others all looked a bit uncomfortable. “Sure, if you don’t consider the fact that the murders that happened here before are mostly based on rumors, and the general belief that ghosts don’t exist.” Iori said, looking both a bit guilty and skeptical at the same time. 

“You still don’t think that’s the case?” Riku asked, sounding a bit hurt. Iori looked to the side, now really starting to feel guilty. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Riku by not believing in him, but he just had a hard time accepting that ghosts might actually exist. It looks like Iori wasn’t the only one. 

The next one who spoke was Mitsuki. “I mean, thinking that ghosts are real is hard enough, but if we admit that your theory is true, wouldn’t that mean…” He trailed off, took a deep breath and then finished his last sentence. “Wouldn’t that mean that the people who went missing now, Chiharu-san and Atsugi-san… Wouldn’t it mean that they’re already dead too?” Mitsuki asked. 

The entire room fell silent. Riku looked down at the floor again. He hadn’t wanted to think about that part of his theory, and now that he did, he felt awful. He imagined the same thing that he went through in his dream happing to Chiharu, and then he felt like throwing up all over again. 

“Do you think I want my theory to be true?” Riku asked. He got no answer, which served as enough of an answer to Riku. “Seriously? You think I’d want this to be true, when it means that two people, one of which I hade made friends with, are dead? Well, I don’t! But at least I’m not trying to come up with some lame excuse just because I don’t want to accept the truth!” Riku yelled, then he stood up and promptly left the room, the others calling out after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg Riku I am so sorry for making you go through that!!! But I still hope that all of you guys found it interesting. I feel a bit bad for making our precious boy go through so much, but I'll try and make up for it with some fluff in future chapters (hopefully)! I'll be back tomorrow with an extra chapter, since it's Halloween, and then one more on Friday. (like I would have either way) Thank you so much for reading, and an extra thank you to those of you who leave kudos and comments, they really make my day! <3<3


	11. Day 5, Part 2 (Night)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After becoming upset that the others wouldn't believe him, Riku ran off. Will the others find him before something bad happens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! I'm here with an extra update to celebrate the spooky holiday! I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^^ If you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can either contact me on my twitter: @EFagerhag or on my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

The moment Riku exited the room everyone was left silent, shocked by what had just transpired. Tenn turned to Iori, looking angrily at him. “What the hell were you thinking? He was already shaken up by that dream! Why did you have to make him upset for other reasons?” He asked angrily.

Iori looked away. “I didn’t mean to hurt him! I just… I didn’t want to lie, and I guess he was sort of right… I don’t think anyone wanted to admit that his theory could be possible because of what it meant for those who went missing.” He said, a guilty look on his face. 

Tenn scoffed. “Hmph, I was starting to think that maybe you could be good for him, turns out I was wrong.” Tenn said. Iori’s expression changed from one of guilt to one of annoyance. “What? That’s not for you to decide! And I take perfectly good care of him!” Iori retorted. 

“Oh yeah?” Tenn started. “Because you just made him run off while crying!” He yelled at Iori. “Guys!” Ryuunosuke yelled out, stepping between Tenn and Iori. “Can you stop it? This isn’t the time to be fighting!” He said. Mitsuki took a step forward as well. “Tsunashi-san is right. Besides, it wasn’t just Iori’s fault that Riku ran off. We all doubted him, and don’t even say that you didn’t! I saw your expression, you didn’t believe his ghost stories either.” He said. 

Tenn frowned and turned away. Then a panting Sougo came into the room, shocking everyone since nobody had noticed him leaving. “Guys, I can’t find Riku-kun.” He said worriedly. Everyone’s expressions turned grim. “What do you mean, Sou?” Yamato asked. 

“I went outside to check on Riku-kun just after he left, I saw him take off down the hallway, but the moment I rounded the corner I lost sight of him. I don’t know which way he went, what if he gets lost or hurts himself?” Sougo explained. 

Then, all of a sudden Tamaki stood up abruptly, a terrified expression on his face. “Or what if Rikkun was right? What if there are ghosts? And what if they take him too, like in his dream?” He asked. Even though nobody really believed it, they still imagined it happening, which really made them worry for the redhead. They all left the room in order to look for him, splitting up in a few smaller groups. 

In the meantime, Riku had stopped running and was now walking as fast as his lungs would allow him to. He was panting a bit, but he wouldn’t let that stop him. He’d show them all that he wasn’t delusional. How? He would search the hallways until he found the room he was taken to in his dream. Finding the actual room would mean that what happened might have been true after all, right? Also, he might find some trace of the people who had gone missing. 

Riku wasn’t entirely sure which way to go, but he had an inkling, and so he walked around hoping for the best. After a while he happened to bump into someone. He didn’t look up to see who it was, instead he quickly apologized and then kept walking. 

However, the person he had bumped into was none other than ZOOL’s Midou Torao. He and the rest of ZOOL had been working late that night and were just going back to their rooms. They were tired and Torao barely registered that someone bumped into him. One who did notice though, was Touma. 

“Riku?” Touma turned around and watched the younger boy leave, he seemed upset, and his breathing didn’t seem entirely stable. Touma felt a bit worried, so he excused himself, telling his groupmates that he’d be back in their room as soon as he had made sure Riku was okay. They all nodded and let him go after the red-haired idol. 

It didn’t take Touma long to catch up with Riku, as he was both faster and in a better condition than the younger. “Riku!” He called out, making the other boy turn around, looking slightly taken aback. “What’s wrong? You don’t look too good...” Touma said bluntly, concern written all over his face. Riku frowned. “Touma-san, can I ask you a question?” He asked. 

Touma nodded. “Go ahead.” He answered. They were still walking, albeit slowly while having this conversation. “Do you believe in ghosts?” Riku asked. Touma was quite taken aback by the other’s question but answered as honestly as he could anyway. “Hmm, that’s a bit difficult. I don’t really have any reason to believe in them, but I also don’t have any reason to doubt their existence. So, I guess my answer is both yes and no.” He said. 

Riku chuckled weakly. “What’s with that? How can you believe something, and yet not?” He asked. Touma rubbed the back of his head and clicked his tongue. “I just do! What brought this on anyway?” He asked. 

Riku looked down sadly. “I think there are ghosts here, but nobody will believe me. Not even Iori or Tenn-nii. They just think I’m annoying who keep bringing it up.” He explained. “Even if they don’t believe you, I doubt they would find you annoying.” Touma said, and he really meant it. Anyone could see how both Iori and Tenn looked at Riku as if he was an actual angel. Though, sometimes Touma could understand where they were coming from. 

Riku sighed. “I just kept saying how I thought the ghost was responsible for the disappearances, but they won’t listen. We did a séance where we summoned not one, but two ghosts, I found out about a rather sinister story of this place and it all just fits! I know there are spirits here, but no matter how much I find, they won’t believe me.” He complained. 

Touma’s eyes widened. “Wait, so a ghost is responsible for the people going missing? Like, an evil spirit? What the hell? Then you really shouldn’t be wandering around alone at night!” Touma exclaimed angrily, shocking Riku. “Wait, you believe me?” He asked in disbelief. 

Touma nodded. “I have no reason not to. Besides, you’re a terrible liar. If you really believe in this so much, then who am I to say it’s not true?” He asked, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Riku smiled up at him. “Thank you, really.” He said. Touma was about to say something more when Riku stopped in his tracks, staring ahead as if there was a three headed monster standing at the end of the hall. “Riku?” Touma asked, trying to get his attention. 

“I’ve been here before.” Was all Riku said before he took off down the hallway. “Ah! Wait up!” Touma exclaimed before he followed the younger boy down the corridor, then into and old, dusty and empty room. They kept walking through a few similar rooms until they reached a big square one with a fireplace in the center. 

Riku stopped and stared. “It’s the room from my dream…” He said in awe. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you’ve been here before, right? What’s the deal with this place?” Touma asked curiously. 

“I think the ghost that kidnaps people used to live here. Back when they were alive.” Riku explained. “Seriously? That’s kind of freaky…” Touma said suddenly feeling nervous. Then Riku noticed something. “But it’s wrong…” He said. 

“What’s wrong?” Touma asked. Riku pointed to the corner of the room. “There was supposed to be a door there, but now there’s just a wall. The door led to a long, concrete hallway, which lead to a place that looked a bit like a garden, but it was still indoors. There was gravel on the ground and tall hedges that created some sort of maze. At the end there was another door that lead into another part of this mansion, and at the second floor there was a room, and in that room…” Riku trailed off, the memories of the dream coming back super vividly. 

Riku collapsed onto the floor and suddenly emptied the contents of his stomach right there on the ground. Touma looked on, shocked at what was happening. Soon, he got back to his senses and bent down next to Riku, patting his back reassuringly. Once Riku had calmed down enough to stand back up, Touma sighed. 

“I'm still not entirely sure what you mean, but are you sure you didn’t just get the wrong room?” He asked, not sure what else to say after what had just happened. Riku shook his head. “No, it’s definitely this room. I’m sure of it. The way here was the same as well.” He explained. Just then, something changed. The air grew heavy and a certain smell filled the air, making Riku freeze on the spot. 

Touma frowned. “What’s that weird smell? So metallic, it’s making me nauseous.” He complained. “Blood.” Riku said. “Huh?” Touma questioned. Riku then looked up at Touma, fear written all over his face. “It’s the smell of blood! We have to get out of here! Run!” He exclaimed, grabbing Touma’s arm and pulling. 

Touma went along with him, but it wasn’t long until he realized that Riku was in no state to be running around. And so, Touma stopped the younger boy, circled around him so that he was now stood in front of Riku. Then Touma picked him up on his back and continued running down the same way they had come from. 

It was first a few minutes later, when they were back in the newly renovated parts of the hotel, knew there were other people nearby and could no longer smell any trace of blood in the air anymore that Touma stopped, letting Riku down before collapsing onto the floor, panting hard. 

“Man! That was super creepy! How can people not believe you when you say this place is haunted? I felt like I was being watched the entire time we ran!” Touma exclaimed. Riku looked down at the other man guiltily. “I’m sorry, Touma-san. Just because I was feeling upset I made you go with me to that place. Something really bad could have happened if we didn’t get away, and you even had to carry me back…” Riku stated. 

Touma smiled sheepishly, a light blush covering his cheeks. “Nah, don’t worry about it. I couldn’t very well leave you there alone, could I? Just, don’t go back there again. That place is bad news, I’m telling you.” He said. Riku smiled shyly. “I know, I won’t. Thank you so much for your help.” Riku said with a slight bow. 

“Now, now.” Touma said, feeling flustered as he patted Riku’s head. “None of that, you’re making me feel awkward. Though, you should try and talk to your friends again, I’m sure you guys can come to an understanding.” He said. Riku nodded, now feeling a lot better than earlier. 

Touma sighed. “Well, let’s head back, shall we? I’ve been working up until now, and I really need to sleep. It’s already 2 AM…” He complained. Riku was about to apologize again, this time for keeping the other up, but Touma beat him to it. “I’ll walk you back to your room, like I said before, you shouldn’t walk around alone at night, especially not if the place is haunted. Besides, we’re staying in the same corridor, so it's on the way.” He said. 

Riku smiled and nodded, thanking the other once more. However, after only about a minute of walking they saw three figures approaching them from the end of the hallway. They soon sped up, and that was when Riku could make out who they were. It was Iori, Sougo and Tamaki. 

Shortly after splitting up, Iori, Sougo and Tamaki had run into the remaining three members of ZOOL, who had mentioned that they’d seen Riku, and that Touma had gone off after him. So, they had headed into the direction they were told the two had gone down. 

Iori was so relieved when he saw Riku safe and sound, he reached out for the other out of habit, but stopped himself once he remembered their previous disagreement. Touma sighed upon seeing this and patted Riku’s shoulder. “Now’s as good a time as any. You seem to be in good hands, so I’ll head back ahead of you. G’night!” He said, waving to Riku as he left. 

Sougo took a step back and smiled awkwardly. “Inumaru-san, me and Tamaki-kun will be coming with you.” He said. Tamaki looked upset at this. “What? But we finally found Rikkun! Why do we have to leave with that guy?” He asked. Sougo pulled him down to whisper in his ear. “Let’s leave Riku-kun to Iori-kun. The two of them should talk it out right now.” He explained. Tamaki seemed to get it and agreed to go back with Sougo and Touma. 

Sougo turned back to Iori and Riku. “We’ll let the others know you found him, take care going back.” He said kindly, smiling at the pair. Iori nodded and thanked him. After that, the three left, leaving Iori and Riku alone. 

Iori started. “Nanase-san, I-” But he was interrupted by Riku covering his mouth with his hands and shaking his head. “It’s okay, I’m not angry anymore. I was mad at you for pushing your ideas onto me, when I was doing the exact same thing without realizing it. I’m sorry. It’s okay if you don’t believe in my theory, but don’t force me to abandon this idea. I honestly think I’m starting to understand this more. I don’t need you to believe in it, but please, will you still help me look into it? I don’t want to do it alone...” Riku asked, sounding rather small at the end since he really wasn’t sure how Iori would react. 

Iori smiled at Riku as the redhead finished. “Of course I’ll help. I’m still skeptical, but if there really are murderous ghosts out there, I don’t want to leave your side for a second. I don’t know much about things like this, but it can be dangerous, right? Dealing with resentful spirits and such…” Iori said. 

Riku smiled and nodded. “Well, there certainly are safer things to do. I’m sorry for troubling you with this.” He said. Iori shook his head and cupped Riku’s cheeks in his hands. “Don’t be. I hate seeing you in danger or pain, so I’m going to be there every step of the way, doing my best to ensure that those things don’t reach you.” He said determinedly. 

Riku blushed, he was quite taken aback by that declaration, it really moved him. “Iori…” Riku said with a smile. “One more thing.” Iori then said. “What?” Riku asked. Iori leaned forward, resting his own forehead against Riku’s. “Please, forgive me for earlier tonight?” He asked, looking really apologetic. 

Riku smiled brighter and laughed out loud. “I already did!” He then said before wrapping his arms around Iori’s neck, pulling the younger into a tender kiss. Iori returned the kiss with as much feeling as he could, keeping it soft and yet passionate, really trying to show Riku how much he loved and treasured him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you go, you're welcome for the ioriku, and for the Touriku interractions as well ;) I hope you enjoyed this extra update! I'll be back TOMORROW, since that's when I was originally planning to update anyway, so look forward to that! Thank you for reading, and thank you as well for leaving kudos and comments! <3<3


	12. Day 5, Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having made up, IDOLiSH7 all work together to try and find out what truly is going on together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again with the new chapter! I hope you will enjoy this as well as we're getting closer and closer to the truth! If you have any questions or you just want to talk to me, you can either contact me on my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

It was now the early afternoon, and everything that had happened that night had been properly resolved. Riku had apologized for getting so upset and running off, while the others had apologized to him in return. Tsumugi had graciously given Riku the day off, since IDOLiSH7 was only supposed to work during the morning until lunch that day, and she wanted to let him sleep some more after his bad dream. Iori had also gotten permission to stay in order to keep him company.

The two had met up with everyone else for lunch and then retreated into a small study-looking room that Ohashi-san had let them borrow. In there, Riku and the rest of IDOLiSH7 were going to look further into the past of this building and Riku’s ghost theory. While they were doing this, the others were out searching the mansion just like before. 

“Guys, are you sure you want to help? I know I said I didn’t want to do this alone, but some of you can go do something else if you want…” Riku said, feeling a bit apologetic that he had somehow roped all of his groupmates into this. Yamato started patting Riku’s back, perhaps a bit too hard. “Relax, we wanted to help! There are already so many people out searching right now, I bet we wouldn’t have made a difference out there anyway.” He said. 

“I just don’t want you to feel like you have to be here. Of course, I’m really happy if you do want to help me out, but I don’t want it to be just because you feel bad about what happened after the dream.” Riku said. Next up was Nagi, who gently took ahold of Riku’s hand. “If you’d rather we leave, let us know, otherwise I believe we all intend to stay.” He said, adding a wink at the end. 

Riku chuckled. “Thank you. I won’t kick you out, of course. I really do appreciate all of your help.” He said, smiling brightly at all the others. They all felt relief, they knew Riku had been troubled since arriving and last night it reached its peak, so seeing their center smile like usual was all they could ask for. 

“So, Riku.” Mitsuki started. “You’re the expert, what do we do now?” He asked. Riku sighed. “Honestly? I have no idea what I’m doing…” Riku admitted shyly. “What?” Mitsuki asked, a deadpan expression on his face. 

“Well…” Riku started. “I never really tried seeking out ghosts before, they were always the ones who came to me... But I think what we have to do now is research. Who is the spirit? Like, who were they when they were alive? What happened to make them a spirit? Why are they still here? And so on.” Riku explained. 

“What do you know about the spirit then?” Sougo asked. Riku thought for a while before answering. “First off, I think it smells like blood, so if you smell that, run away. The spirit seems to have been here since the time the Miyama family still lived here, and it’s possible that the spirit is the reason this mansion looks the way it does. I think it’s all to prevent it from leaving.” He said. 

“That at least seems to have worked. Didn’t you mention earlier that kids have been using the garden and the driveway as a playground up until Ohashi-san started renovating here?” Iori asked and Riku nodded, confirming this. “Yes, I believe you’re safe as long as you’re outside of the mansion.” 

“Anything more you know?” Yamato asked. “It seems to still be taking people away and possibly… Uhm, murdering them…” Riku said, a sad expression donning his features. He cleared his throat and continued. “It’s certainly an evil spirit. I also believe that it was one of the two spirits we summoned during the séance. The one who left that odd message, ‘I don’t want to die’.” Riku said. 

“Really?” Sougo asked. “You’d think the one saying that they didn’t want to die would be the person who went missing, right?” Riku shook his head. “I don’t really understand it yet, but I really believe that’s our evil spirit. The messages saying ‘help’ are from someone who went missing, but the other spirit smelled like blood, and besides…” Riku started trailing off towards the end. 

Iori put a hand on Riku’s shoulder, giving him a concerned look. Riku smiled up at him as a thanks. “In my dream, while they were… killing me, there was someone else in the room. I couldn’t see them, but I could feel their presence. And I heard their voice. It was a man’s voice that repeated ‘I don’t want to die.’ I think that’s the spirit we’re dealing with.” Riku finished explaining. 

“There’s something I don’t understand…” Tamaki said from an armchair in the corner of the room. “What is it, Yotsuba-san?” Iori asked. Tamaki frowned. “We know that some kind of bad things happened here in the past, right?” He asked, and the others nodded. “And then two people disappeared many years ago?” He then asked, again, he received nods as an answer. 

“And now, two more people has gone missing?” He asked. Iori sighed. “Yes, that much has long since been established, so what?” He asked, sounding a bit annoyed. “Well…” Tamaki started. “If it’s so dangerous here, why didn’t anything happen during the two years Ohashi-san was renovating? There must have been a lot of people inside the mansion during those two years.” 

Riku abruptly stood up at that, his eyes widening in realization. “Tamaki, you’re amazing! Why didn’t anyone else think of that? There were a bunch of people here for two years straight, yet none of them went missing! That’s part of the reason why Ohashi-san though it was safe to open this place to the public!” Riku exclaimed. 

“Maybe it can’t touch anyone with connections to the family?” Yamato suggested. Riku shook his head. “While it is true that only outsiders have disappeared, I don’t think that’s the case. See, that wouldn’t have included the workers. While Ohashi-san may have been safe, considering his marriage into the Miyama family, the builders that worked here wouldn’t be included in that.” He explained. 

“But do you really think the spirit is deliberately choosing who to abduct? Are there certain criteria to be met?” Nagi though aloud. “The people we know went missing are an 18-year-old boy who snuck in, a young man in the search party looking for him, as well as Kaname-san and Atsugi-san.” Iori stated. 

That’s when Riku realized something more. “The people who worked with renovating this place, we saw them, right? At an event earlier this week Ohashi-san had invited them!” He exclaimed. The others nodded and Mitsuki answered. “Yeah, I guess they were. Why is that important?” He asked. 

Riku smiled. “Because if we can find something that the people who didn’t go missing have in common, as well as something that the ones who did go missing have in common, then we might find out who are at risk of being taken!” He explained. 

The others understood and immediately started throwing out ideas. After a while, Riku sighed. “I think maybe we’re overcomplicating things… Maybe it’s something super easy, like…” He trailed off as he suddenly realized something. “Like age. The people who went missing were all in their twenties or younger. The construction workers looked like they were definitely all over forty.” Riku suggested. 

It was silent, everyone struggling with what that realization meant. “So…” Sougo started. “That means we’re all in danger of being taken, right?” He asked. Riku suddenly let out a gasp and rushed over to the door. Seeing this Iori rushed over to grab his wrist. “Wait, where do you think you’re going?” He asked. 

“We have to warn Tenn-nii and the others!” He exclaimed. “Riku’s right.” Yamato said, though much more calmly then how Riku did. “But nobody will be moving alone. If this is all true, then nobody should ever go anywhere by themselves. All the disappearances happened when there was no one who could see them be taken away, right? Either they were alone, or the other people present were asleep.” Yamato continued. 

“So you think we’ll be okay as long as we’re not alone?” Sougo asked. Yamato shook his head. “If there really is a ghost, I do think there’s at least a smaller chance of being taken if we’re together with someone else. So, just like Riku said, we have to go warn the others, but let’s all go together. And make sure no one gets left behind or wanders off alone.” He said. The others nodded, and then they were off looking for the people who were out searching. 

They didn’t have to look for very long though, as they soon noticed a big gathering of people inside the lobby. They weren’t sure what was going on and so they went to check it out. The people there seemed to either be upset, angry or worried, which concerned Riku and the others. They pushed their way to the front, where a troubled looking Ohashi-san was standing. 

“Ohashi-san, what is going on?” Mitsuki asked. Ohashi-san sighed and turned to them. “There…” He started, before he got strangely silent again, an upset expression donning his face before he continued. “There has been a third disappearance.” He said. 

Shocked, the members of IDOLiSH7 looked at each other. Riku, once he realized the truth of the situation, started furiously looking around, only stopping once he managed to spot his brother, the rest of TRIGGER, as well as Re;vale and ZOOL standing further away by one of the walls. 

Sighing in relief, Riku turned back around to Ohashi-san. “Who went missing?” He asked. Ohashi-san sighed. “Fukuda-san, she was a journalist working for a local newspaper.” He explained. “Excuse me, but do you know how old she was?” Sougo asked. Ohashi-san blinked, a bit confused at the question, but still gave his reply. “I believe she was 25? I’m not entirely sure, but she was definitely still in her twenties.” 

The IDOLiSH7 members all looked at each other with knowing looks. The fact that the third person who disappeared was also still young only made their theory more likely to be true. Yamato soon turned back around to face Ohashi-san again. “Do you know if she was alone when she disappeared? Or was someone else there with her?” He asked. 

“Apparently Fukuda-san said that she was going for a little walk, left her hotel room and then didn’t return. That was early this morning, she hasn’t been heard from since.” Ohashi-san explained. “There have been staff here in the lobby all day, if she left the building, she didn’t leave through here.” He then added. 

After listening to Ohashi-san, the group tried to push their way back out from inside the gathering of people. It turns out that people were really getting annoyed or scared by what was going on, most people saying that they would leave before they went missing themselves. 

They made their way over to where the other idols were standing. “Yo.” Gaku called out. “Did you hear what happened?” He the asked. Yamato nodded. “Yeah, another disappearance? This is really turning into a serious case.” He said. The others nodded. 

“Actually…” Riku started. “If there’s one good thing that’s coming from this, it’s that people will want to start leaving. I have nothing against Ohashi-san, and I know he’ll be troubled by people leaving, but I really don’t think it’s safe here…” He explained. 

“That reminds me,” Yuki interrupted. “Did you manage to discover anything new? The seven of you were researching things regarding to the whole ‘ghost theory’, right?” He asked. “Sort of…” Yamato answered. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Tenn asked dryly. 

“We think they’re targeting specific people. Because even though there have been people working on the renovations here for two years, nothing ever happened to any of them. Yet, as soon as we came people started going missing, suggesting that the people who go missing has to meet certain criteria, and the construction workers must have been unfit for the spirit to abduct.” Riku explained. 

The other’s looked shocked. “No way? Who are they targeting?” Touma asked, him and the rest of ZOOL moving a bit closer. “Everyone who’s disappeared have been in their twenties or younger, meaning only people below a certain age are being taken. So far, out of the people we know of, Fukuda-san has been the oldest, and she was 25.” Sougo finished explaining. 

“But that means…” Momo started. “That we could also be targeted!” He then exclaimed. Riku nodded. “Yes, that’s actually why we came here. We wanted to warn you not to move around alone. We also noticed that people only seem to disappear when there’s nobody around to see them.” He added. 

Everyone agreed to never walk around alone, they also told Ohashi-san about this and he relayed the message to the guests that hadn’t already left the hotel. Before IDOLiSH7 got the chance to go back, Ohashi-san pulled them to the side to talk to them. 

“I understand that you boys have been looking into the more…Occult side of what’s been happening here, correct?” He asked. They were a bit unsure whether they should tell him about their entire theory or not at first, but then decided to share it with him, and so they nodded. 

Ohashi-san smiled weakly. “I am sorry that you were pulled into this, but I have a request.” He said. They were all a bit taken aback, but Riku took a step forward and face Ohashi-san. “What is it?” He asked. “My sister-in-law is on her way here right now. She’s a spirit medium and was the one who was the most against me making this place into a hotel. I figured we could hear her out, and I’d like you to be there as well.” He said. 

Riku’s eyes widened. “Yes, please! We’d love to meet her.” He said enthusiastically. Ohashi-san nodded and thanked them, then he asked them to follow him into his own office. As they were walking, Riku suddenly felt a shiver travel down his spine. His ears started ringing and he felt like crying, even though he had no idea why. 

“Nanase-san?” Iori called out, a bit worried since Riku had just suddenly stopped. Iori’s voice pulled Riku out of whatever state he had been in, so he shook his head and smiled at Iori. “It’s nothing, let’s go!” He said and joined Iori. For now, Riku tried to dismiss the feeling as him having gotten too little sleep, but he wasn’t really sure whether that was really the case or not…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new character to appear in the next update? Yes! I'm excited for you to meet the sister-in-law/spirit medium, I hope you will like her. ^^ Anyway, I will actually be back tomorrow already, even though I had originally planned to wait until Sunday... You see, I'm from Sweden, and we celebrate Halloween (or we call it "All saints' eve") tomorrow, on Saturday! And since I will have the time to do it, I figured I should do another special Halloween update! I'll also post on Sunday like I usually would have and then go back to uploading every other day! I hope you all will be okay with that and that you'll also be looking forward to the next chapter! Thank you so much for reading this update, and also thank you for leaving kudos and comments and just supporting me in any way! It mean a lot to me! <3<3<3


	13. Day 5, Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IDOLiSH7 meet Ohashi-san's sister-in-law, who is also a spirit medium that came to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, I'm here with the second special Halloween update, as today is when we celebrate in Sweden! I hope you will enjoy it! ^^ If you want to ask me something, or just want to talk, you can either find me on twitter: @EFagerhag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

Ohashi-san’s office was just like Riku remembered it, or maybe it was a bit more messy this time compared to before. While waiting, Ohashi-san had left to make some tea and when he returned, he did so with a middle-aged woman in tow. Riku assumed that was the sister-in-law/spirit medium. He was correct.

“Are these the boys you were talking about?” She asked Ohashi-san, who nodded. The woman sighed. “Geeze, I can’t believe a bunch of kids have a better sense of the situation than you do!” She scolded, then turned to look at IDOLiSH7. “No offense to any you.” She said. 

“None taken.” Yamato said. “Though we really don’t deserve much credit, at least not all of us. It was all our center, the rest of us actually didn’t really believe the whole ghost story.” He then said. The woman raised an eyebrow. “Then who is your center?” She asked. 

Riku stood up, feeling a bit flustered. “Ah, that would be me. My name is Nanase Riku, it's nice to meat you.” He said and held out his right hand. The woman eyed his hand suspiciously before grabbing it. “Miyama Madoka.” She responded. “How come you believe this is all because of ghosts?” She then asked. 

Riku smiled shyly. “Well, there were a lot of strange happenings. I had these weird dreams, I smelt blood from time to time, I could feel this weird presence and we even did a séance at one point! Not that we learned that much from it, but still… And the fact that this place seems to have a sinister past only added to the likelihood that there are ghosts here.” He explained. 

“Hmm…” Madoka hummed. “You’re untrained, but I can sense that you have the potential to become a rather strong psychic, if you would want it that is. Your powers are strong enough to let you sense these things even without trying to.” She said. Riku’s eyes widened. “Do I really have psychic powers?” He asked in awe. 

Madoka nodded. “You sure do. Have you ever seen ghosts before?” She asked. Riku nodded. “Yeah, mostly in hospitals. And they were always the ones that came to me.” He answered. “So you attract them as well? Boy, you’re going to have to deal with more ghosts in your life, whether you want it or not.” Madoka explained. 

Riku wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that, so he simply nodded before sitting back down. Madoka also sat down, but on a chair to the right side of the desk. “So, why don’t you tell me what you know so far?” She asked. The boys looked a bit confused at her request. “Isn’t that what you are supposed to do?” They asked her. 

“I will, but I want to know how much you’ve already figured out first, so that I don’t have to go over that.” She explained. The IDOLiSH7 members agreed and then proceeded to tell Madoka what they had figured out so far, both about the house itself and the ghost. She listened intently while nodding. 

“Very good.” She said as they finished, then she finally started sharing her own information. “To be honest, the truth about this place has been lost for a long time. It was only my grandparents who knew the full story, even my parents didn’t know why we abandoned this place. Because of this, some things you just told me regarding the spirit, I didn’t actually know. Like the fact that it seems to be targeting young people.” She explained. 

“Even though I’ve been researching this case for years, I don’t know the most crucial parts because I never investigated the source. I’ve actually never been inside this house before today, I wasn’t allowed to until it was decided that it would be reverted to a hotel.” She explained. 

“However,” Madoka then said. “I do know some more about what happened in this house and about the people who lived here. I also plan to stay for a while, so that I can conduct my own research and hopefully exorcise the spirit in the end.” She explained. 

Riku’s eyes widened. “Miyama-san, you’re an exorcist?” He asked in awe. Madoka smirked and nodded. “I am indeed. I could teach you some ways to get rid of spirits later, if you’d like. You’ve got the kind of disposition that seems to be attracting the dead, so it’s likely this won’t be your last encounter with their kind.” She said. 

“You’d really teach me?” He asked, but Madoka didn’t have enough time to answer as Ohashi-san cleared his throat and glared lightly at the woman, who just scoffed in return. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get on with it.” She told him. “Let’s talk more later.” She then whispered to Riku before getting on with her explanation. 

“A lot of this is based off of stories from people who lived in the area before, rumors of what really transpired here. A lot of the stories are centered around Miyama Kaneyuki, so let’s start with him. It seems Kaneyuki-san was someone who hated people in general and was very eccentric. When he felt like being kind, he would do things for others… But when he got angry, he changed and would supposedly chase people around.” She started. 

“Apparently he did charity work here… But I’ve been told he was never really that into it. I also heard it was all just a front so that people wouldn’t realize all the terrible things he did.” Madoka said. Riku gulped. “By charity work, do you mean the hospital?” He asked. Madoka nodded. “That’s right, the charity hospital. I actually wondered why it was a hospital specifically, and when I looked into it, it turned out that Kaneyuki-san was very physically weak when he was young.” 

“Physically weak?” Iori questioned. “In what way?” Riku continued. Madoka shook her head. “I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, I just know that he was prone to illness and that since his early childhood he’d been told that he wouldn’t live for very long.” She explained. “So, the reason that the charity work he did was in the form of a hospital was because he had been sickly himself?” Sougo speculated. 

“That’s my guess, but I don’t actually know whether it’s true or not.” Madoka said. She turned quiet after that, looking like she was deep in thought. “Keep going.” Ordered Ohashi-san, sounding a bit impatient. Madoka glared at him, but complied anyway. 

“Because he was so weak, Kaneyuki-san would often travel abroad. The official story was that he was just sightseeing, but people would gossip and say that he was actually visiting different foreign doctors, trying to find a way to get better permanently. It was after his return to Japan that he built and moved into this place, or at least the original building which is now just a fragment of the entire mansion.” 

“I also heard that Kaneyuki-san was always accompanied by two manservants wherever he went.” Madoka said. Upon hearing this, Riku was quite shocked. He saw a flashback to his dream, of the two people that had come and grabbed him. Could they be the manservants of Kaneyuki-san? Riku shivered at the thought but didn’t say anything. He suddenly felt a bit cold and wrapped his arms around himself as he kept listening to Madoka. 

“They were aparently gardeners and were about the only ones that Kaneyuki-san would allow to go in and out of this place as they pleased. Even though they were originally gardeners, they would do everything for their master at the time. That doesn’t mean they never did any gardening. I heard that they made a labyrinth out of hedges surrounding the cottage that Kaneyuki-san lived in.” 

Riku gasped silently. _‘A hedge… A hedge labyrinth…?’_ He thought to himself. _‘I saw it, the labyrinth they created... That must have been it.’_ Madoka kept going. “The labyrinth supposedly covered the gap between the main wing and the cottage Kaneyuki-san had isolated himself in later in his life. I also heard that these gardeners were quite unsettling. That whenever they came here, people would experience strange, nauseating feelings, as if there was a constant stench coming from the two.” She said. 

“And they weren’t the only ones that smelled, it seemed as if an even stronger nauseating odor came from the cottage itself, they said it smelled just like a graveyard.” Madoka grew silent once more, but this time, Ohashi-san didn’t have to remind her to talk. “Moreover, they said that the maids that came to work in the main wing… were constantly switched out. There were always new faces, and nobody knew what happened with the old ones.” She said. 

_‘No, stop!’_ Riku thought. He grew colder and colder by the second, his breathing turning labored and his body started shivering. _‘I don’t want to hear anymore!’_ He wanted to cry, but no tears would fall. “Nanase-san?” Iori asked in concern, having noticed Riku’s state. _‘Make it stop!’_ He thought. 

Madoka’s eyes widened as she stood up, walked over to Riku and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then she started softly speaking directly to him. “Leave this boy alone. These people can’t come, they can’t save you. You have to keep moving forward… Because you have already died.” She said. 

Everyone stared in shock at Madoka as she kept talking to ‘Riku’. “Now, keep going… Don’t be afraid, just try moving towards the light. You must relax, only then can you find peace…” Madoka finished and leaned back, letting go of Riku’s shoulder in the process. Riku blinked a few times and sat up straighter. His body no longer felt cold, and the ringing in his ears from before, that he only now realized never really stopped, finally ceased. 

Riku turned to Madoka. “What just happened? What did you do?” He asked. Madoka walked back to her chair and picked up her bag, then proceeding to pull out a piece of chocolate that she handed to Riku. “Eat it, you’ll find that you’ll feel better afterwards.” She said before sitting back down and sighed. 

“You were possessed by the spirits living in this house. I’m not sure for how long this has been going on, but that might be the reasons for your dreams. It was most likely one of the maids who died here in the past, and when I started talking about them and what happened to them, it must have triggered the spirit, causing it to act up and making you feel like you just did.” She explained. 

Riku blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just been told. “I was possessed? But I didn’t even notice! And it’s not like they made me do things… I was conscious the whole time!” He exclaimed. 

“There are multiple types of possession. While wandering the halls, did you perhaps recognize places you should have never been in before? Did weird thoughts that you couldn’t quite make sense of sometimes appear in your mind? Did you sometimes get emotional or upset by things that wouldn’t normally bother you?” She asked. 

Riku nodded hesitantly. “I… I think so, yes.” He said. Madoka nodded. “That would be because of the spirits. You recieved their thoughts, memories and emotions.” She said. Riku stared at her in shock. “Could it hurt him?” Iori asked worriedly. “It could have, if it had stayed. But I already made it leave and move on. It can no longer get to him.” She explained and Iori and the others all sighed in relief. 

However, Riku didn’t feel relieved, he felt sad. “Then, that dream I had, the one where I was taken away and murdered… That was actually… the memories of that person?” He asked. Madoka nodded, an apologetic expression on her face. "That's most likely the case, yes." 

Riku started crying. “Nanase-san?” Iori asked in concern as he reached out and wrapped an arm around the redhead to try and comfort him. “That feeling of vulnerability… That fear… That feeling of being murdered like that… For me, it was just a dream, something I could wake up from… But… For that person, it was a reality!” He said. 

The others stared at him sadly, not sure what to do in this situation. “Nobody should ever have to go through that! … They were so scared… And in so much pain… Why?” Riku mumbled, still crying. Iori pulled the older boy closer, sad to see him in pain like that and mad at himself for not knowing what to do other than to embrace him in order to try and make him feel better. 

Riku soon calmed down and pulled back, apologizing to Iori and the rest for breaking down like that. “What happened to that girl was unfortunate, but you seeing her memories might have actually helped us. This might make me sound really bad, but you being possessed by her might not have been entirely bad. It gave us great clues as to what is really going on here.” Madoka said. 

The IDOLiSH7 members were about to say something to her about how that comment might have been a bit inappropriate, but they were suddenly interrupted. All of a sudden, the room started shaking and there were weird noises coming from all around. “This is…” Iori started. “Just like during the séance!” Nagi continued. 

“Rapping noises! A clear sign that a spirit is near!” Madoka exclaimed. All of the lights went out and Riku grabbed on to Iori for support, holding the other man as close as he possibly could. Madoka started chanting something that nobody understood, and soon the shaking and the sounds both stopped. “Are they gone now?” Tamaki asked from where he had curled into a ball on the floor. 

It was then that the lights came back on. Everyone blinked and partially covered their eyes in order to adjust to the sudden brightness. What they saw next shocked them all. “What the hell is this?!” Mitsuki exclaimed. Nobody really had an answer, they were all just equally as shocked. 

When the lights had turned back on, what everyone saw was that the entire room, walls, floor and ceiling, was now covered in dark red writing. The writing said things like, ‘I’m scared,’ ‘it hurts,’ ‘help me,’ ‘I don’t want to die,’ and the one that stood out the most was the writing that said ‘Urado’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! I was really excited to introduce Madoka in this story, and I hope you will like her! Anyway, I'll be back tomorrow with another update, and then you'll have to wait until tuesday. Thank you for reading, and thank you so much for leaving kudos and comments! <3<3


	14. Day 5, Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the creepy writing appears, Madoka decides what to do next, and she asks IDOLiSH7 to join her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again, and I hope you all will enjoy this chapter as well! If you have any questions or want to talk to me, feel free to do so over on my twitter: @EFagerhag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

As it turns out, Ohashi-san’s office wasn’t the only place that had been scribbled on, apparently the entire corridor outside and the surrounding rooms on the same floor were covered in the same writing. Ohashi-san looked both tired and frightened as he turned to Madoka. “I don’t care how you do it, just please, get rid of this thing!” He begged her.

Madoka scoffed. “You make it sound so easy! I first have to figure out what more specifically I’ll be dealing with, and even when I know I’ll have to plan and prepare before I can start the actual exorcism.” She explained. 

Ohashi-san now looked more irritated, he punched the table and glared at the woman in front of him. “Then get on with it!” He yelled. Madoka just shook her head, picked up her bag and grabbed a random bedroom key. “Thanks for the hospitality!” She said ironically before heading for the door. 

Since they didn’t want to be left alone with an angry Ohashi-san, and also because they were interested in what Madoka would do next, all members of IDOLiSH7 excused themselves and left the office. “Miyama-san!” Riku called out once he saw her ahead of them. 

Madoka stopped walking, turned around and waved to them. Riku was the first one who caught up to her. “Uhm… I realized I still didn’t thank you! You know, for helping me get rid of the spirit… So, thank you very much, Miyama-san!” He rambled awkwardly as he bowed to the medium in gratitude. 

Madoka chuckled. “Speak nothing of it, and please, stop with the ‘Miyama-san’ already! Just call me Madoka.” She said with an amused smile. Riku looked up at her, his eyes had a certain wonder in them. “Ah, sure, Madoka-san… Uhm, I also sort of wondered what you were planning on doing now...” Riku said shyly. 

“Well…” Madoka started. “I am going to go to my room, unpack my things and then have a snack, if only to spite that annoying brother-in-law of mine!” She said at first while glaring in the direction of Ohashi-san’s office. Riku was a bit surprised at the way she was acting but nodded while giving her a forced smile anyway. 

Madoka sighed. “But in all seriousness, I think I’m going to have to try and make contact with the spirits myself.” She said. Riku’s eyes widened. “You’re going to do a séance?” He asked. Madoka nodded. 

Riku suddenly felt uneasy, he even started gritting his teeth. “Nanase-san? Is something wrong?” Iori asked, concerned at seeing the center act like that. “Does that mean you’re going to invite a spirit into you?” Riku asked, looking up at Madoka. “That is what I was planning to do, yes.” She answered. 

Riku’s gaze turned into a pleading one. “You can’t do that! You might see the same horrible things I did!” He exclaimed, shocking Madoka and the rest of the idols present. “You have to understand, I am a professional, it won’t be the same.” Madoka said, reaching out and patting Riku’s shoulder to try and calm the boy down. 

Riku now glared at her. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a professional or not! No one should have to experience that sort of thing! Have you ever felt what it’s like to die like that? Do you realize how horrible it is?” He asked, now almost crying. 

“Riku-kun, I think she knows what she’s talking about. Maybe you shouldn’t get so upset.” Sougo said, trying to calm their center down. Riku didn’t say anything, he just shut his eyes and shook his head. 

Madoka sighed. “Okay, then how about I simply invoke the spirits instead?” She asked, smiling kindly at Riku. “What?” Riku asked confused, not entirely sure what she was saying. “There are two ways to communicate with spirits, having them possess you, or having them visit you. Normally, I would have them possess me, it gives much clearer answers and takes a lot less energy to do, but I could do it the other way if you’d prefer it.” She explained. 

Iori stepped in. “You shouldn’t have to change your ways just because of this!” He started, then he turned to Riku. “Nanase-san, come on, I understand your reasoning, but she can do what she wants to do.” He said. Riku looked down on the ground, feeling a bit guilty that he had caused trouble. 

“It’s fine.” Madoka said. “Besides, I actually wanted to ask if you would be there while I talk to them , so if you’d be more comfortable if I simply had the spirits visit instead of having them possess me, then that’s what I’ll do.” She explained. 

Riku blinked. “You want me to join you for the séance?” He asked dumbfounded. Madoka nodded. This time, Iori was the one who was upset. “Another séance? No way! I’m against it!” He exclaimed. “You’re welcome to be there too if you’d like. But if I’m going to have the spirit visit me rather than possess me, then I definitely need some help.” She said. 

“With what?” Riku asked, a bit unsure whether he wanted to be there or not. “If I’m going to invoke the spirits, there are certain things I need to know about the spirit I’m trying to reach, which means that I can only summon the spirits of the three people who went missing this time around. And it will only work if they’re actually dead. You can see spirits, so if they show up, I’ll need you to identify them for me. Plus, with all your energy, you might give me some sort of boost.” Madoka explained. 

“Nanase-san, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.” Iori said, holding onto his arm protectively. Riku nodded. “I know Iori, but it’s fine.” He said and turned to Madoka. “I only have to be there and observe, right? I don’t actually have to participate, right?” He wanted to confirm. 

Madoka smiled and nodded. “Of course.” She answered. Riku took a deep breath and nodded. “If so, I’ll be there.” He said. “Thank you.” Madoka said gratefully. Iori now stepped in between Riku and Madoka and glared at the medium. “If anything happens to him, I’m suing you!” He said before grabbing Riku’s wrist and pulling him away. 

Madoka smirked. “Tonight, at ten! In my room! Bring your bodyguard!” She said, adding a smirk. Riku’s face flushed red but he nodded her way. Soon, he lost sight of the woman as Iori kept pulling him away, back towards their own room. 

A few hours later, Riku, Iori and the rest of IDOLiSH7 were headed to the room in which Madoka was staying. They were all quite nervous, and the fact that Tamaki had also chosen to come with them was nothing but a miracle. When they arrived, they knocked at the door, which immediately opened. 

“Come on in.” Madoka said from inside. The group entered and saw that a small table and a chair had been moved to the very center of the room, on the table, there were multiple different candles, incense sticks and other objects. It all looked much more complicated than whatever Riku and Sougo had done earlier that week with Chiharu and Yuka. 

“Wow, that looks quite complicated.” Sougo said in awe. Madoka nodded. “It is. Invoking a spirit is much more difficult than to just summon them into you. And it’s even more challenging if you’re trying to call for a specific person.” She explained. 

“The one I will be trying to raise is the spirit of Kaname Chiharu. She is the one that has been missing for the longest, and thus is the most likely to have already passed. In order to raise her I need her full name, one of her belongings, her date of birth and her approximate time of death. I visited her bandmates earlier today to obtain these things.” Madoka continued. 

Riku and the others all looked a bit glum at the thought of Chiharu having passed away, especially in such a cruel way. Even though it was only for a short time, they did know her after all. “Wait a minute…” Nagi said, having realized something. “What are you going to do about her time of death? We don’t even know for sure that she has passed.” He pointed out. 

Madoka nodded. “I’ll simply have to guess. For now, I’ve put down the day after her disappearance.” She said. The others nodded. Madoka sat down at the table and motioned for the others to stand back, she then turned and looked at Riku. 

“I’ll be starting now, if she appears, I might ask you some questions. Also, keep in mind that she will be able to hear everything you say, so don’t say something unnecessary. We will probably only be able to keep her here for a limited amount of time, I’d rather not waste it on useless questions.” She said. Riku nodded in understanding. 

Before turning back to the table, Madoka turned to the rest of IDOLiSH7. “You most likely won’t be able to see her, but you might notice the temperature dropping, the room shaking, some weird sounds coming from all around or maybe you’ll even feel a strange unease. This is all totally normal, so don’t be alarmed. Also, please keep in mind that even if you can’t see her, she’s aware that you’re here. She will be able to hear you, so stay quiet unless you have something absolutely crucial to say.” She told them, receiving understanding nods in return. 

Madoka turned back around, took a deep breath, sat up straight and started chanting. This went on for a few minutes, but soon Riku could make out a small light forming in front of the table. It started as just a dot but slowly grew and started changing its shape. Soon Riku was able to make out the shape of a person, then more clearly a woman, and as it finished morphing, he gasped at what he saw. 

Madoka grew quite and turned to Riku with questioning eyes. “It’s Kaname Chiharu-san.” He started. “She’s here.” He stated. The others gasped. “So, she really did die then?” Mitsuki asked silently. Madoka turned back around and looked at the spirit in front of her. “Kaname Chiharu-san…” She said, catching the spirits attention. “Besides you, is there anyone else in this house?” Madoka asked. 

Chiharu’s spirit nodded. Riku whispered “She says yes…” as a way to interpret her words to his friends who couldn’t see her. “Are there others here besides the guests and staff of the hotel?” Madoka continued to ask. Once again, Chiharu nodded and Riku told his friends about it. 

Madoka kept going. “You and the others have already died, were you aware of that?” She asked. Chiharu turned to look at Madoka, her expression now showing surprise and hurt. Riku gasped. “She… didn’t even know about her own death…” He whispered to the others, whose expressions grew sympathetic. 

“Do you know why you died?” Madoka asked. Chiharu shook her head. “Did someone do something terrible to you?” This time she answered with a nod. “Who did that to you? Was it someone other than the guests or staff?” Another nod. Madoka grew silent for a few seconds, unsure on how to proceed from there. Soon though, she looked up and opened her mouth. 

“Urado… Do you know who that is?” She asked. Chiharu’s eyes widened and she started clawing at her chest and neck. She looked as if she was in pain. Riku turned to Madoka. “What is happening? What is she doing?” He asked worriedly. “Remembering.” Madoka answered. 

Chiharu looked as if she was trying to say something, but her voice wouldn’t come out. Because of this, she started moving her finger, as if trying to write something in the air. When that wasn’t working, she grew angry she looked as if she was screaming, but there was still no sound coming from her mouth. 

The room was silent, at least to those who couldn’t see her. Riku suddenly heard an extremely loud ringing noise that made him scream in pain, cover his ears and crouch down. “Nanase-san!” Iori exclaimed and crouched down to hold Riku. “What is going on?!” Riku yelled, the question directed at Madoka. 

“We’ve reached the limit.” Madoka started. “I’m losing her.” She said. The ringing started to die down and Riku looked up again just in time to see Chiharu fade away. Soon, there was nothing left, no light of a spirit and no ringing sound. Riku stood back up and reassured Iori that he was okay. 

Madoka sighed and stood up. “It’s finished, there are no more spirits in this room anymore.” She said, placing a hand on Riku’s shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to see that, are you okay?” She asked. Riku nodded and smiled sadly up at her. “I’m fine. I’m glad I got to be here. At least, now I know what happened to her…” He said, looking quite sad as he did so. 

Iori decided to pull Riku into a hug to try and comfort him, one that Riku graciously accepted. Madoka let the boys be and walked over to the door in order to turn on the lights again. However, the moment she did that, there was a loud gasp. 

Everyone turned around to the sound of the gasp and stared at a wide-eyed Tamaki. “S-Sou-chan… Look…” He stuttered out to Sougo who stood right beside him as he slowly raised a trembling finger to pint at the wall right behind where Chiharu’s spirit had stood. 

Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared back at some red writing on the wall that spelled out the name ‘Vlad’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting really close to the conclusion, I hope you all are excited! I'll be posting the next chapter on Tuesday, so I'm back to my previous schedule of posting every other day for the final three chapters! This means that the second to last should be out on Thursday and the final one on Saturday! ^^ Thank you for reading, and thank you once more for leaving kudos, comments or just supporting this fic in any way! I'm super grateful! <3


	15. Day 5, Part 6 & Day 6, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What does the writing on the wall really mean? How will their new revelations affect the outcome?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back again! This chapter will pick up right where the last one left off. I hope you will enjoy it! ^^ If you have any questions you want to ask or just want to talk to me, you can either contact me on my twitter: @EFagerhag or my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

“Vlad? What does that mean?” Mitsuki asked upon reading the red writing on the wall. “I think it means ‘Urado’… Don’t they sound similar? Isn’t Urado just the Japanese way to pronounce ‘Vlad’?” Madoka speculated. “So, you mean to say that Miyama Kaneyuki’s penname wasn’t Urado, but actually Vlad?” Sougo asked.

Madoka nodded in reply. “That is exactly what I’m saying.” The others grew silent for a while upon this revelation. “What does that mean exactly? Does it change anything?” Yamato suddenly asked, turning to the medium for answers. 

“It could... And I believe Vlad is a reference to Dracula, the vampire.” She said seriously. IDOLiSH7 were stunned silent after hearing this. “Are you trying to say that Kaneyuki-san was actually a vampire?” Nagi asked in shock. Madoka laughed and shook her head. “No, no, not at all! Vampires don’t actually exist, they are simply fictional!” She exclaimed. 

“Well, we thought the same about ghosts, and look at where we are now…” Iori said and rolled his eyes. Madoka smiled at him. “Don’t worry, I can ensure you that vampires actually don’t exist, but that doesn’t mean that Dracula didn’t.” She said with a smirk. Iori squinted his eyes and glared at the woman. “Please, do explain…” He said suspiciously. 

“Well, originally Dracula’s image as a vampire came from a novel by the same name. It was published by a man named Bram Stoker in the 19th century. But what some people don’t know is that Dracula was actually based on a real person who was called the same thing. However, the Dracula that actually existed was no vampire, he was a king named Vlad Tepes.” Madoka started. The IDOLiSH7 members watched in anticipation as she kept telling them about this Vlad. 

“Vlad ruled over the region of Wallachia in eastern Europe during the 15th century. His surname ‘Tepes’ would usually translate as ‘The Impaler’. As you might imagine, he was a very fastidious and cruel person. He was called The Impaler because he would mercilessly execute and impale the citizens who lied or stole, as well as enemies who invaded his country.” Madoka continued to explain. 

“But how is this Vlad Tepes the same as Dracula?” Mitsuki asked curiously. “You see…” Madoka started. “Vlad’s father was actually named ‘Vlad Dracul’, ‘Dracul’ means ‘dragon’, but it could also mean ‘devil’. ‘Dracula’ means ‘Dracul’s child’, so in other words, it could also mean ‘Devil’s child’.” She explained. 

“If you thought about it, you could easily find a few similarities between Vlad Tepes and Kaneyuki-san, both were described as fastidious and cruel. And don’t you think the way that Kaneyuki-san fired and evicted that entire family just because one of them cheated on his salary is kind of similar to how Vlad would execute people for lying or stealing?” Madoka speculated, and the others nodded in reply. 

“Didn’t you mention before that Kaneyuki-san traveled abroad to visit foreign doctors in his youth? Could he have gone to Europe during that time?” Riku asked. Madoka nodded. “It’s not only possible, I know for a fact that he went to a few European countries, not entirely sure which ones though…” She responded. 

“While he was travelling, the story about Dracula would have already been published, and probably quite recently. There’s no doubt he must have heard of it while visiting, and afterwards taken on the penname ‘Urado’.” Iori added. 

“Yeah, he must have been inspired by King Vlad.” Mitsuki stated, a slightly disgusted expression on his face. “Inspired?” Madoka repeated. “Yeah, since he even started calling himself by his name…” Mitsuki clarified. Madoka became silent. “What’s wrong?” Riku asked in concern. 

“I almost forgot…” Madoka said before looking up at them, her expression serious. “Vlad is often confused with a Hungarian countess named Elizabeth Báthory, have you ever heard of her?” Madoka asked. The IDOLiSH7 members all shook their heads. 

Madoka proceeded to explain. “The thing Elizabeth feared above all else was losing her beauty and growing old… So, she started murdering young girls and filled a bathtub with their blood, and then she soaked her body in it. She believed that by doing this, she could preserve her beauty and youth.” The medium finished. 

Riku’s eyes widened. _‘A bathtub filled with blood…’_ He thought. “That was… in my dream…” He mumbled. “What was that?” Madoka asked him, not quite catching what he had said. Riku cleared his throat and spoke up louder. “In my dream, the room I was taken to had a bathtub filled with blood inside…” Riku said. 

Madoka nodded. “Yeah, I remember you telling me that earlier…” She said. “Does this mean that Miyama Kaneyuki knew about this story?” Iori asked. Madoka nodded. “That’s very likely. He probably couldn’t stand the poor health of his body. He must have thought that bathing in the blood of young people would preserve his health, just like it did for Elizabeth…” 

Everyone grew silent, they were equally as surprised and disgusted by this revelation. “That’s so sick…” Riku stated, almost feeling nauseous. “All that pain and fear all those people had to go through… All because of one man’s fear of death? That’s fucked up!” Riku exclaimed, tears starting to fall from his eyes as he remembered the feelings of that spirit that had possessed him, how he felt in that dream. 

Iori pulled Riku closer, feeling sympathetic for the other boy. “Urado, or Kaneyuki-san, must have been the reason why the maids were constantly being replaced. He killed them, which is why he needed new ones all the time.” Iori said. Madoka nodded. “That’s most likely true…” She said sadly. 

“Ah! I just figured it out!” Sougo suddenly exclaimed, making everyone turn around and stare at him. He laughed awkwardly as he brought something familiar out of his pocket. It was the piece of money they’d found a few days ago in the old doctor’s coat. “I asked Riku to borrow this earlier today, I wanted to see if I could figure out the final two characters, and I think I finally got the entire message!” He explained. 

“You figured it out? Way to go, Sou!” Yamato exclained. Sougo nodded bashfully before clearing his throat and reading the full message aloud. “Those who came here are all dying. Listen to those Urado murdered. Get out.” He read. “Of course, that makes sense!” Mitsuki exclaimed. “Good job figuring that out!” He then added while patting Sougo’s back. 

“Then it really was a message left behind for people who came here after the owner of the coat. It was a warning!” Riku said. “Didn’t you say you found it in a coat from the hospital though?” Madoka asked curiously. Riku nodded. “Yeah, why?” He asked. Madoka sighed. “That means Kaneyuki-san might have murdered more people than we expected. It wouldn’t make sense for a maid to have that coat, right? It must have belonged to someone from the hospital staff.” 

“No way…” Riku said, realizing what Madoka meant. “Can this case stop getting worse and worse already? Onii-san can’t take much more…” Yamato said, running a hand through his hair. 

“Do you think Hideyuki-san, Kaneyuki-san’s son that is, knew about what his father was doing here? Could that be why he kept adding to the building?” Iori then asked. Madoka nodded. “He must have known. Do you remember his last words? It was to stay away from this place. He must have known his father could still get to people if they were inside, but also that he was unable to leave.” She explained. 

“This building really did manage to trap Urado inside, but in doing so, it also trapped the spirits of everyone he killed… There must be so many who are stuck here, unable to move on since they can’t find their way out…” Riku said, feeling sad for those lost souls. 

Then, there was the sound of something hitting the floor. The boys all turned around and saw that Madoka had dropped an unlit candle that she was supposed to be putting away. “Madoka-san? Is something wrong?” Riku asked in concern. Madoka shook her head, getting out of her daze. 

“Because Urado murdered so many people, all of them died with regrets, they died in pain, which is just like asking to become an evil spirit. And because of Hideyuki-san expanding this building so much in order to trap his father, he unintentionally trapped the spirits of his victims as well. As a result, this place is full of evil spirits and resentful energy.” Madoka stated. 

Riku nodded. “It would seem that way, yes.” He said. “However,” Madoka started. “Earlier, when you were possessed, I didn’t only chase them out of you, I helped them move on. With some guidance, those spirits could easily be released.” The medium kept explaining. 

“Isn’t that great news?” Riku asked enthusiastically, feeling a bit better at the thought that everyone who had been stuck, suffering in here for so many years, could finally get some rest. Madoka, however, shook her head, a troubled expression on her face. “I’m afraid it’s the opposite.” 

“What do you mean?” Riku asked, now also feeling a bit uneasy. “The fact that I didn’t realize this earlier was because of the amount of evil spirits in here… Nanase-kun. You mentioned before that you believe you have sensed Urado’s presence before, right? Can you recall if it felt any different from the other spirits in this house?” She asked. 

Riku nodded. “It definitely did. When the spirits are around, it feels kind of oppressive, there’s a certain denseness to the air and you feel cold. When Urado was approaching, it was always accompanied by the scent of blood, it also felt like he was physically approaching you, instead of just being everywhere around you at once.” He explained. 

Madoka nodded, a grim expression on her face. “Why? What did you realize?” Riku asked worriedly. “I think…” Madoka started, trailing off for a second before continuing. “Maybe it’s possible that Kaneyuki-san really did manage to figure out the secret to a longer life. By killing others, he brings life to himself, and that’s why he’s still here. Not human, but also not a spirit. Not alive, but not entirely dead either.” She said. 

“Are you saying that Urado… He is not actually a spirit?” Riku asked, shocked at Madoka’s words. “I’m afraid not. If he was, I’d definitely feel the presence of an overwhelmingly evil spirit, and yet I don’t. The fact that he’s not entirely dead made his presence blend in with the other spirits, but it was also this fact that made him stand out once he got too close.” She explained. 

“If he’s not a spirit, then what is he?” Iori asked. Madoka shook her head. “I’m not sure what to call him, but I think the closest description would be ‘monster’. A monster that is still, to this very day, hunting for sacrifices.” 

It was deadly silent after this, no one really sure what to do with this new piece of information. “What did you mean when you said this wasn’t good? Why does this pose a problem?” Yamato asked. “Because,” Madoka started. “If he’s not a spirit, then I can’t exorcise him. In other words, there’s nothing I can do to stop him.” She said, her expression cold and serious. 

Early the next morning, Madoka had reported their findings from the previous night to Ohashi-san, she had also advised him to send the remaining guests home and to momentarily close the hotel down before they found a way to deal with the situation properly. He had been a bit reluctant but had in the end agreed to her proposal. He may be a businessman, but he didn’t want to be held responsible for the deaths of others. 

And so, while everyone was gathered for breakfast, Ohashi-san had made an appearance and told everyone that they would have to leave the hotel that very day. He apologized for the inconvenience and promised them that he would make sure everyone was able to leave the property before nightfall. 

Furthermore, the people connected with the three missing people had been pulled aside, after which they were told that these people were most likely dead by now. They’d been shocked and upset, Ohashi-san had promised that the police would do a more thorough investigation, though it had mostly been to appease those who were close with them considering the true nature of the case. 

On their way back to their room in order to start packing up so that they could leave the hotel, Riku spotted Madoka, also walking back. He called out to her. “Madoka-san!” She turned around, smiled and waved. Riku ran over to her. “Are you also leaving?” He asked. 

Madoka nodded. “Yes, though I might not leave just yet, I have to stay until all of the guests are out, I’ll leave with Ohashi-san once that’s done.” She explained. Riku nodded, though he looked a bit troubled. Madoka, not really sure what was wrong with him, tried to lighten the mood. “You know, if you ever feel like learning more about those abilities of yours, feel free to call me up.” She said with a smile while handing Riku a card with her contact information on it. 

Riku bowed and thanked her. “Thank you, I’ll think about it.” He said. However, Madoka could see that there was still something that bothered him. She sighed. “What’s wrong? You look down.” She then stated. 

Riku glanced to the side, fidgeting a bit as if he was nervous. “I’m sorry, I just…” He started before taking a few seconds to calm down. Once he was done, he looked up at Madoka, now looking a lot surer of himself. “Are you really sure there is nothing that can be done to get rid of Urado? Are we really just going to leave this building like Hideyuki-san did? Won’t that mean that there’s a possibility that others will come here again in the future?” He asked. 

“There might be one option…” Madoka said, catching Riku’s attention. “What is it?!” He asked enthusiastically. Madoka sighed. “Look, I’m a spirit medium, not a monster hunter. Even if I have a theory, I can’t guarantee that it would work…” She said. This was the first time Riku had seen the older woman act so unsure of herself. 

“Could you tell me about it?” He asked. Madoka nodded. “Urado’s one known weakness is that he can’t leave this building, so theoretically, if we burn this entire place to the ground, leaving absolutely nothing, not even a single woodchip behind, then maybe he would disappear. He would no longer have a hunting ground, and so he would dissipate and, hopefully, die for real.” She explained. 

Riku was awed, he didn’t really know what to say, but what Madoka had suggested seemed to make sense to him somehow. “The fact that he still has a somewhat physical body also helps, maybe he would burn with the building. It could serve as his punishment for all the murders he has committed.” Madoka continued. 

Riku nodded. “Are you going to burn this place, then?” He asked. Madoka sighed. “I’m not sure yet. I have to consult some people who might be more familiar with the situation and then come back to it. Either way, you and everyone else needs to hurry and get out of this place already, before a fourth person joins the ranks of the missing.” She said, ending with a smirk while ruffling Riku’s hair. 

Riku chuckled and gave Madoka a smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave as soon as we finish packing! Our manager has already gotten us a ride back to the agency!” He said. “Well then, I should probably start packing now. Excuse me.” Riku said before he turned to leave. 

However, he didn’t get far when he heard Madoka call out to him again. “Remember, you have my contact info if you’re ever interested in learning more! Give me a call sometime, will you?” She said. Riku turned around and smiled brightly at her. “Yes!” He answered happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, only two chapters left! I'm excited for you to read the next two chapters, but as with all my fics, I'm also a bit sad to see it coming to an end. I'll be back on Thursday with the second to last chapter! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for leaving kudos and comments, and for supporting me in any other way! <3<3


	16. Day 6, Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> IDOLiSH7 are packing up their stuff in order to leave the hotel when something goes wrong...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, it's time for the second to last chapter! I'm both sad and excited that we're reaching the end really soon... But I still hope you will enjoy these final chapters! I'd also like to apologize in advance... But yeah, enjoy the chapter! ^^ If you have any questions or want to talk to me, you can either do so on my twitter: @EFagerhag or on my tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

After Iori and Riku had both finished packing, they had headed over to the room in which Banri had stayed these past few days. Before they started, everyone in IDOLiSH7 had talked it over with their managers and decided to meet up in there once they had finished. As of right now they were only waiting for Nagi, Mitsuki and Yamato to arrive, most likely because Nagi had brought way too much stuff with him for the week.

Iori and Riku were currently sat down on the bed in the room, just chatting. Though, the more they talked, the more silent Riku got. “Nanase-san? Is everything okay?” Iori asked. Riku was immediately pulled out of his stupor, smiled at Iori and nodded. “I’m fine, I was just thinking…” He answered. 

“About what?” Iori asked curiously. “About something Madoka-san said.” He explained, but it seemed as if Iori wanted to know more. He didn’t say it, but the look he gave Riku told the redhead all he needed to know. Riku chuckled a bit, making Iori frown. “Sorry, it’s nothing. I just… I can see the curiosity on your face.” Riku explained, still smiling. 

Iori scoffed, a light blush covering his cheeks. “Well? Are you going to tell me or not?” He asked. Riku smiled and nodded. “Madoka-san gave me her contact info, she said I should give her a call if I ever wanted to learn more about my… abilities.” He said. Iori’s eyes widened. “Do you want to learn more?” He then asked. 

Riku shook his head. “I don’t know! At first, I didn’t. It really scared me, seeing this more sinister side to the paranormal. But now, I’m starting to think that maybe I should. I mean, she did say that it was likely that I would encounter similar situations again… I’m not saying that I want that to happen! I just…” Riku trailed off. 

“What do you want then?” Iori asked calmly, grabbing ahold of Riku’s hand and squeezing reassuringly. Riku smiled graciously back at him. “I guess I want to be prepared? Just in case something happens again, you know? Do you think I should call her?” Riku asked. 

Iori thought for a while. “Well, ultimately it has to be your decision. I can tell you what I want or not, but you have to be happy with your decision yourself.” Iori answered. Riku pouted. “I didn’t ask what I should do, I asked what YOU think! Your opinion matter to me…” He exclaimed. Iori nodded, though he seemed a bit unsure of himself. 

“Honestly? I don’t really know. After seeing what could happen in these situations, a part of me doesn’t want you to have anything to do with it ever again… But there’s also a part of me that agrees with what you just said, that it might be good to learn some things, if only to be prepared should something happen in the future.” Iori said. 

Riku nodded. “Right, thanks Iori.” He answered. Iori sighed and looked away. “I don’t know if I was able to help any though…” He said. Riku smiled fondly at that, leaned in, and then placed a feathery light kiss on Iori’s cheek. “You did help. Thank you.” Riku whispered with a soft smile on his face. 

Iori started furiously blushing at that. He was about to say something back to the other when Riku suddenly let out a loud “Huh?” The raven-haired boy turned to look at his boyfriend worriedly. “What is it? Is something wrong?” He asked. Riku was searching through his pockets. “The card I got from Madoka-san… I can’t find it.” Riku answered puzzled. 

“Well, where did you last see it?” Iori checked with him. Riku thought for a while. “Well, after I got it, I put it in the pocket of my jeans… I thought it was still there but… Ah! I know!” Riku suddenly exclaimed. 

“Did you remember where it is?” Iori asked, a small smirk on his face. Riku nodded and smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I emptied my pockets when we were packing earlier, to look over the things in there and make sure I had everything. I must have forgotten it on the bedside table in our hotel room!” He explained. 

Iori chuckled and nodded. Riku grinned back at him and stood up. “I’ll just go and get it real quick! I’ll be right back!” He said as he started running towards the door. “Ah, wait! I’ll go with you!” Iori yelled after him. 

When the door closed behind the redhead, Iori sighed. Couldn’t he just learn to calm down and listen to others instead of just running off on his own? Iori sighed and pushed himself up off the bed before heading towards the door. He opened it and went outside to join Riku. 

However, the moment Iori stepped outside of the room, he felt as if something was wrong. The corridor was empty and quiet. It had only been a few seconds, unless he ran really fast, Riku wouldn’t have already made it to their room, which was at the opposite end of the corridor. Iori hurried up and headed over there, but upon opening the door, he found their old room just as empty as the hallway. 

“Nanase-san?” He called out. Walking further into the room, Iori could spot the little card on Riku’s bedside table. So he hadn’t gotten it yet? Iori was actually starting to get really worried now. Iori decided to check the bathroom as well, which was empty, and then call out for the other once more for good measure. “Nanase-san?” There was still no reply. 

Iori headed back out into the corridor. “Nanase-san?!” He called out again, but his surrounds were just as silent as before. _‘Maybe he headed into Nii-san’s room?’_ Iori thought as he went over there and knocked. Soon, Yamato opened the door and let Iori in. 

“Ah, Iori! We’re almost finished! Or rather, Nagi is almost finished…” Mitsuki said, glaring at Nagi. “I’m sorry…” Nagi said in English as he hung his head low and kept slowly packing his things. Iori didn’t really listen however, as he was instead frantically looking around the room. “Iori? Is something wrong?” Mitsuki asked, having noticed his brother’s weird behavior. 

Iori turned to his older brother, his gaze filled with worry and fear. “Nii-san…” He said, sounding upset. Mitsuki got even more concerned after that. “I can’t find Riku anywhere.” Iori then told them. 

“Why did you let him go alone?!” Tenn roared as he grabbed Iori’s collar and pushed him up against the wall with all the strength he could muster. “I didn’t mean to! I rushed after him as soon as I could! He was the one who ran off ahead of me!” Iori responded. “Well, you should have hurried more!” Tenn yelled back. 

“That’s enough! Tenn, let go of him!” Gaku yelled, grabbed Tenn’s wrist and pulled him back. “Gaku’s right, try and calm down! Yelling at Iori-kun won’t help in any way.” Ryuu added. Tenn scoffed and backed off, but he was still glaring hard at Iori. 

Iori looked away, his expression guilty. “I’m sorry… If only I’d managed to stop him then…” Iori started, he was both frustrated and disappointed in himself, he wanted to cry, but he held back. “Stop that.” Iori looked up and saw Mitsuki standing before him. “Don’t blame yourself.” He said before holding a hand out for Iori to take. 

Iori hesitated for a second, so Mitsuki sighed. “If we’re going to find Riku, we’re going to have to start looking. The longer we wait here, the more danger he’ll be in, right?” Mitsuki said. Iori’s eyes widened as he immediately reached out and took ahold of Mitsuki’s hand, letting his brother help pull him forward. 

“While you boys go look for Riku-san, us managers will try and get ahold of Madoka-san. She’s a medium so she might be able to help.” Tsumugi said. “Yeah, I was wondering about her, why isn’t she here helping out? I thought you guys got along with her?” Momo asked. 

“We do.” Yamato answered. “But she’s off somewhere with Ohashi-san, this place is so huge that it’ll be almost as difficult to find them as it will be to find Riku. Besides, she’s not picking up her phone.” Yamato explained. “Oh, I see…” Momo answered. 

Outside in the corridor, the idols split up with the managers, both going to find who they were looking for. “Still, we made no progress searching for the three who went missing earlier, how are we going to do this now?” Yuki asked. The others were silent. They’d practically searched the whole mansion from top to bottom already, and they had yet to find anything. 

That was when they heard a voice from the other end of the hall. “Oh, it’s you guys. You ready to leave this place soon?” Everyone turned to the source of the voice and were met with the members of ZOOL. The one who had called out to them was Midou Torao. 

Seeing the worried and stressed expressions on IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER and Re;vale made ZOOL a bit anxious. “Did something happen? You guys look a bit pale.” Minami said. “Well, actually…” Yamato started, and then they proceeded to explain what had happened to the four idols. 

“Riku disappeared? Like the others? You mean that weird Urado person took him?” Touma asked, anger and concern both clearly present in his expression. The others nodded. “I see…” Minami said, his expression troubled. “So now you’re out searching for him? How do you plan to go about it? We’ve been searching this place thoroughly for days already.” He continued. 

“We really don’t know, but we can’t just give up! We have to try and find him!” Mitsuki answered, looking as determined as he managed to be with these circumstances. It was then that Touma recalled something. “Riku knew the way…” He said. 

“What?” Tenn and Iori asked in unison. Touma looked at them. “Uhm, remember that dream he had? Wasn’t he being taken to Urado’s place in it? That dream showed the way, so couldn’t you just follow the dream?” He asked. 

“There’s just one problem with that reasoning.” Tenn said after a few seconds of thinking. “Riku was the one who had that dream, and he’s not here!” He said. “Wait…” Touma started. “You mean Riku didn’t show you the way? He showed me where he was taken in the dream.” He said. 

Everyone stared at Touma, dumbfounded expressions on their faces. “Then why didn’t you say that sooner?!” Mitsuki was the first to yell out. “I’m sorry? I thought he’d tell you the way too…” He explained. “This is no time for excuses, Inumaru-san, please show us the way!” Sougo said, and the others also looked at him expectantly. 

Touma nodded. “Sure, it’s down this way.” He answered and pointed down a hallway. With that, ZOOL accompanied the rest of them in their search, which was now led by Touma. “Though, just so you know, I don’t know the entire way there. The room me and Riku went to ended up being a dead end. In his dream, there was a door in the corner, but it wasn’t there when we were there. I can still take you to that room, though.” He said. 

The others nodded and followed his lead as they quickly made their way through the many corridors and rooms of the house. Soon, they had reached the room with the fireplace. “Here it is!” Touma exclaimed and then pointed to one of the walls. “That’s where Riku said the door would be.” 

Sougo walked up to the wall and started knocking on it. The others looked at him weirdly. “You know, I doubt knocking is going to open the missing door.” Momo pointed out. Sougo shushed them. “Listen!” He said as he started knocking in two different spots on the wall. “The sound is different, there’s a hollow space behind this wall.” He explained. 

The others finally understood what he had been doing. “So the door has been covered up! It must have been after whatever happened to the one that possessed Riku… Maybe Hideyuki-san covered it up?” Mitsuki suggested. “Maybe, but that’s not important right now. We have to find out how to get through.” Yamato said. 

“Well then,” Gaku said as he started moving towards the wall. “We’ll just have to break it down.” He said as he started kicking the wall with all his strength. “Gaku! You’re just going to hurt yourself if you do that alone!” Ryuu exclaimed. “He’s right though.” Momo said. “We will have to break through that wall if we want to find Riku.” 

The group spent longer than they would have liked breaking through that wall, but in the end they did succeed. What stood before them was no longer a wall, but a long, concrete corridor. Touma walked up to. “It’s like how Riku described it. He mentioned a concrete hallway, which then turned into a maze-like path surrounded by hedges and with gravel on the ground. That led to a different part of this building, and the final room he was taken to was on the second floor in that part of the mansion.” He said. 

“Let’s go then, we’re getting close.” Iori said as he started walking down the path. The others all followed, walking through the long, narrow hallway. A few minutes later, they did in fact arrive in a more open area with gravel all over the ground. They could also see what must have once been hedges all over the place. However, now they were just dead branches. 

After a few minutes of going back and forth in the labyrinth, they could see another door in the distance. “That must be the other part of the mansion Rikkun saw in his dream!” Tamaki exclaimed. “That must be where Urado lived… And where he…” Sougo started, gulping at the thought of what happened in there. Tamaki grabbed onto Sougo’s arm, he was scared, but he was also willing to overcome it if it meant Riku would be safe. 

“Let’s keep going, it won’t do us any good to stop and think about what went down here in the past.” Nagi said and patted both Sougo and Tamaki on the back. Everyone was getting more and more on edge the closer they got to the building. On the way there, they had all been filled with adrenaline at the thought of finding their friend, but now that they were so close, the reality of what awaited them in there suddenly hit them. 

They’d most likely had to face Urado, who not even a professional like Madoka knew how to take care off. They didn’t know what to do once they were there, they just knew they had to do everything that they could to try and get Riku back. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too late by the time they arrived. 

They soon reached the door, and with one final sigh of hesitation, they opened the door and stepped into the building. At first, they didn’t notice anything off, but once everyone was inside, the door closed behind them by itself, making most of them jump. And that is when it hit them. 

They all covered their nose and mouth, the stench of blood and rotting flesh so strong that it made them all feel faint. “What the hell?” Gaku exclaimed in shock at the overwhelming stench. “Is this what Riku meant when he said that he felt the smell of blood?” Nagi asked. Touma shook his head. “It’s similar to what me and Riku smelt when he showed me that room with the fireplace for the first time, but this is so much stronger.” He explained. 

That was when they heard it. The building had been completely silent before, but suddenly they heard a single almost deafening scream coming from the second floor of the house. Iori’s eyes widened as he realized that he recognized that scream. “Riku!” He called out as he headed for the stairs to find his boyfriend. He just prayed that he would make it in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry Riku... For all the pain I keep making you go through with this fanfic... I'll be back with the final (!!!) chapter on Saturday, so I hope you guys are looking forward to that! Thank you for reading, and also thank you for leaving comments and kudos, they mean so much to me! (Also, we managed to reach 100 kudos, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!) <3<3<3


	17. Day 6, Part 3 (Final)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riku wakes up in a dark room, will he be able to escape in time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time has come, it's the final chapter! I hope you all are excited for this, and that you'll be happy with what I wrote! This story has been really fun to post, and I'm a bit sad that it's the end npw, but I'm also really glad that the entire thing is out now! With that said, please enjoy the conclusion to "Blood Covered Path"! If you have anoy questions or want to talk to me, you can either do so on twitter: @EFagerag or on tumblr: efagerhag.tumblr.com

_A few hours earlier._

The moment Riku recalled where he had put the card he’d received from Madoka, he decided to go get it. Without really thinking about it, he rushed out into the corridor without waiting for anyone to accompany him. The moment he got outside and the door closed behind him though, he froze. The corridor suddenly filled with the scent of blood and Riku felt a presence behind him. He slowly turned around, and that is where he blacks out. 

When Riku wakes up he has no idea how long he was passed out for, he doesn’t even clearly remember what happened to him. His head was pounding and his ears were ringing. He tried taking in his surroundings but found that it was extremely difficult to focus on anything, what with the ringing in his ears and his pounding headache. 

Riku leaned his head back against the cold wall behind him, then he closed his eyes and tried to take some deep breaths to try and calm himself down. It felt like a few minutes had passed by the time the ringing had mostly stopped and the headache had toned down. Riku opened his eyes again and now tried to look around once more. 

Wherever he was, it was very dark, he couldn’t even make out his own hands if he extended his arms in front of him. The only source of light seemed to be coming from what Riku assumed was the slit underneath the door to the room. Now that he thought about it, Riku had no idea how he got to this room. Wasn’t he just in the corridor outside their bedrooms? 

Riku thought that maybe, he could try opening the door. There was some sort of light out there, so maybe then he’d know where he was once he was actually able to see something. He’d just have to feel his way over there first. However, he stopped the moment his hands touched the floor. Riku’s eyes widened as he felt around with his hands. The floor was cold and hard, which wasn’t that odd, but the thing that made it stand out was that it was clearly covered in tiles and not the same wooden floor that covered the entirety of the mansion. 

Riku’s breathing started growing heavier as he started connecting the dots. He’d gone out in the corridor completely alone, had then smelt blood and felt a presence creeping up behind him before blacking out. And now, upon waking up, he was in some sort of dark room, covered in tiles. _‘No, no, no… Please, tell me I’m wrong…’_ He thought to himself as he realized what this probably meant. 

Riku tried to calm down, tried to keep his hopes up, but his mind kept flashing back to that dream he’d had earlier in the week. Was the same thing going to happen to him now? Riku didn’t want to believe it. _‘Maybe it’s something different…’_ Riku thought, trying to stay positive. _‘Right, I can’t feel the presence of Urado or any spirits right now, so maybe I wasn’t taken after all?’_ He thought. He wasn’t sure if he truly believed it, but right now he’d take anything that would mean he wasn’t in the situation he thought he was in. 

Riku soon managed to collect himself enough to decide that he should still try and make a second attempt at making it to the door. Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind. Riku started feeling around on the floor in front of him, when he felt nothing there, he crawled a tiny bit forward. He felt around in front of him again, however, before he could move forward further, the lights suddenly came on. 

Riku blinked, trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden brightness. He hadn’t been expecting the lights to turn on at all, so it had taken him quite a few seconds to get used to it. Once he did though, his eyes widened and panic set in. The room Riku found himself in was the same one from his dream, the tile-covered room with a table and a bathtub. On top of that, the room was also covered in blood. 

Riku felt fear take over him and he crawled back as far as he could, or at least until he felt his hand landing in something sticky and wet. Riku could feel himself tremble as he looked down and saw that he had indeed just put his hand in a small puddle of blood. He squealed and immediately pulled his hand back and started furiously wiping it on his shirt. 

_‘This can’t be happening… This can’t be happening!’_ Riku thought as he looked around frantically. He felt tears gather in his eyes as he was met with the realization that the blood that covered the tiles and the table wasn’t that old. _‘Is all this blood from the others who went missing?!’_ He thought and started crying, both from sadness and fear. 

Suddenly, Riku gasped and stopped crying. He thought he’d heard a noise. He was as silent as he could be, and for a moment the only sound in the room was that of his still slightly labored breathing. Then he heard it. 

It sounded sort of like a mixture between bubbling and splashing, it was undoubtedly the sound of some sort of liquid moving around. Riku slowly turned to the bathtub that stood to his left. It was almost overflowing, with droplets of blood running down the side. He slowly rose to his feet, though it was quite difficult as his legs were trembling and could hardly support his weight. 

Riku could see the blood shifting around, creating an almost wave-like motion. It looked as if something, or someone, was moving around beneath the surface. Soon, something started to break the surface, it was some sort of round object. At the same time, Riku could hear a voice. “More…” It whispered. 

The thing that was emerging from the bathtub continued to show more of itself, and Riku could now make out what he assumed was the top of a head, what with the few thin strands of hair that surrounded it. “Lots of blood… Give me more…” The voice appeared again. 

Riku sobbed as more of the head emerged from the water, now he could even see some semblance of eyebrows as well as a pair of closed eyes. Suddenly, the eyes opened, revealing small black pupils and bloodshot whites. “MORE!” The voice suddenly got much louder and Riku flinched back as the person inside the tub suddenly pushed himself all the way up, revealing not only his head, but also his entire torso. 

Riku gasped, tears running down his face and his heart beating faster than it ever had before. In front of him was Miyama Kaneyuki, or what remained of him at least. Riku could now see how he definitely wasn’t human anymore, he looked like a skeleton dressed in skin that looked almost gray, with big, bloodshot eyes and long, thin strands of hair hanging down from his head. On top of that, he was also covered in blood. This was Urado. 

Riku was unable to move, he wanted so badly to try and run away, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move a muscle. Was he paralyzed? Was this something else Urado was capable of doing? _‘Am I going to die now?’_ Riku couldn’t help but think. 

Urado, still standing in the bathtub, now started reaching out a hand. It was only about a decimeter away from Riku's face when there was a loud BANG sound coming from somewhere outside. It sounded sort of like a heavy door closing. The sudden loud sound seemed to have startled Urado, as he lost his balance and fell back into the bathtub. 

With a splash, Urado disappeared. Riku could feel some of the blood splash onto his own face and felt slightly nauseous for a second. However, then he noticed that he was once again able to move. Once Urado fell back into the blood-filled bathtub, whatever spell he had over Riku must have lifted. 

_‘I can escape now!’_ Riku thought and started making his way towards the door, slowly at first as he thought that maybe it was all too good to be true, but soon he changed into a sprint. He was almost at the door when he felt strong hands grab onto his upper arms and violently tug him back. 

Riku groaned in pain as his back hit the wall hard and his breath was momentarily knocked out of him. He coughed a couple of times, trying to regain his breathing. When he opened his eyes and looked down, he could barely make out two black hands coming out of the wall and holding him in place. 

_‘Those hands…!’_ Riku thought they felt awfully familiar, and then he once again recalled his dream. _‘It’s those two men! The ones that worked for Urado!’_ However, this was bad, he was held firmly in place, unable to move even one step. That’s when he heard the sound of something dripping against the tiles, accompanied by the sound of feet shuffling against the floor. 

Riku looked ahead of him and saw that, starting from the bathtub, red footsteps started to appear on the ground. He couldn’t see Urado, but he still felt his presence and he could also hear him approaching. Riku tensed up as he started feeling puffs of air that smelled of decay hit his face. _‘No… He’s here…!’_ And just as he had that thought, Urado’s face appeared mere centimeters away from his own, smiling with a mixture of blood and saliva dripping down his chin. 

“Give me your blood…” He spat out. Riku’s lips trembled, new tears ran down his face, and before he knew it, a scream of pure fear escaped his throat. Urado started laughing hysterically, his eyes never once leaving Riku’s crying face as he stared at his pray. 

That was when something unexpected happened. All of a sudden, the door to the tile covered room flew open and in came two people Riku knew very well. “Riku!” The two of them exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with a mixture of relief, fear and surprise. Riku teared up, this time for an entirely different reason. “Iori, Tenn-nii!” He exclaimed. _‘They came for me!’_

However, Riku wasn’t the only one who had noticed the two intruders. Urado turned his head around and stared the two boys down. “What the fuck is that thing?” Tenn asked in disgust and fear. “U-Urado…” Riku stammered out. 

Urado started walking away from Riku, however, Riku didn’t feel any better at all, because now he was headed straight for Iori and Tenn. “No!” He yelled out, once again trying to break free of the hold on his arms. And once again, he failed to do so. 

Iori and Tenn both looked unsure of what to do, how were you supposed to defeat a monster like this? The two split up, avoiding Urado by running off in two different directions. Iori then bent down and grabbed the first object he could get his hands on, turns out was some sort of saw which had probably been used in Urado's murders. 

As Urado approached, Iori found himself swinging the tool down, almost using it as a sword. It was almost futile, however, as it only managed to make Urado stagger before he regained his footing and started running of in a different direction. Iori and Tenn both gasped as they noticed Urado making his way back to where Riku was being held. 

Riku whimpered as Urado stood before him once more. Iori and Tenn started making their way towards them, but stopped in their tracks when Urado reached up to wrap one hand around Riku’s neck, and using the other to grab his chin. Riku gasped and fought for breath as the hand around his neck tightened. 

While this was happening, Urado was looking at Iori and Tenn with a warning smile, telling them to stay put. The two of them tensed up as they saw Riku struggle for breath. Both were desperate to do something, but neither knew what. 

While Riku’s airways were restrained, he could still get a tiny bit of air, meaning Urado wasn’t killing him just yet. Riku soon felt one of the fingers that was cupping his jaw move up to his cheek, then he whimpered in pain as he felt the sharp nail dig into his skin and draw blood. 

Urado started laughing hysterically once more as he brought his now blood covered finger up to his lips and put it in his mouth. The three boys all looked horrified as he did this. Iori and Tenn were just about to throw themselves at the monster as a last resort when they were halted by the sounds of footsteps approaching quickly. 

They turned around and were surprised to see Madoka enter the room. Her eyes immediately widened at the sight and she wasted no time in getting started. She started chanting something that neither boy understood before she brought out a small bottle, took a few steps forward and splashed whatever was inside all over Urado. 

The moment the unknown liquid made contact with Urado’s flesh, the creature started to scream. He let go of Riku, who gasped for breath once the constriction around his airway was removed. Then Urado proceeded to back away, seemingly in pain as he fell back into the bathtub from where he had first emerged. 

The moment Urado fell into the blood-filled tub, the hands holding Riku back against the wall disappeared and the room turned silent. Riku collapsed against the floor, all strength leaving him. “Riku!” Iori and Tenn exclaimed as they ran over to him, checking to make sure he was alright. 

Riku barely processed what had just happened, he was just staring at Iori and Tenn, not saying anything while trying to regain his breathing. Madoka stepped forward. “I wish I could give you more time to recover, but Urado will only be incapacitated for a few minutes. We need to get out of here now!” She exclaimed. 

Iori and Tenn nodded, pulling Riku up to his feet. However, Riku’s legs were shaking so much, he wasn’t quite able to support himself. Thus, Iori and Tenn grabbed one arm each and put them over their shoulders, pulling Riku along with them as they left the room and Urado behind. 

Once the four had managed to make their way down the stairs, they were met with the concerned glances of the rest of IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re;vale and ZOOL. All of them turned relieved upon seeing that they had Riku with them, and that he was still alive. However, Madoka quickly gave them something more urgent than Riku’s wellbeing to think about. 

“Urado is very angry, he will come after all of us the moment he can move again. We need to get the hell out of this mansion now!” She explained. The others nodded and they started leaving the building. However, Iori and Tenn weren't able to move very fast, seeing as they had to basically drag Riku along with them. 

Seeing this, Ryuunosuke headed over to them and said seriously, “Here, let me take him. It will be faster!” Iori and Tenn hesitated at first but agreed in the end. Ryuu hoisted a panting Riku up on his back and then the group were off again, running back towards the other part of the mansion. 

It was when they were making their way through the concrete hallway that would take them to the room with the fireplace that Riku felt a shiver travel down his spine. He turned around, wanting to know what the source of this new unease was. He gasped and gripped onto Ryuu’s shoulders tighter. 

“H-he’s coming…! Urado’s coming!” He yelled out. The others turned around, without stopping of course, and saw that Urado had indeed started following them, his bloodshot eyes shining white in the dark hallway. 

They soon made it to the room with the fireplace, and Madoka pointed to the rooms ahead of them. “Hurry and find the first way out of the mansion and take it! Even if you have to use a window!” She said. She was running behind everyone else, just in case Urado caught up to them, she was the only one who could do anything to slow him down after all. 

It took them a while, but soon someone had managed to spot a window that looked as if it led outside. “There! We can get out through that window!” It was Momo who said this. They rushed over, threw the window open, luckily it wasn’t locked. Then they started making their way outside, one by one. 

Madoka was the last one out, and the moment her feet hit the grass outside the mansion, Urado’s face appeared in the window, which had closed by itself, keeping the creature locked inside. He let out a final scream, which sent shivers down everyone’s spines, before he disappeared back into the darkness of the mansion. 

Everyone was panting hard, still not over what they had just gone through. Riku crawled away from Ryuu and managed to stand up on still shaking legs. “Is it over?” He asked. Madoka looked at him and nodded, a small smile on her lips. “Yes, you’re okay, and you never have to go back in there or encounter Urado again.” She said. 

Hearing that, Riku’s knees gave out again, though this time Iori was there to catch him, to cradle him against his chest as he lowered them both onto the ground. Riku started sobbing loudly as the relief finally hit him and he buried his head in Iori’s chest, arms wrapping around the younger boy’s neck. 

Iori held him close, rubbing comforting circles on his back while lightly kissing his forehead and whispering reassuring words into his ears. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until Riku had calmed down enough to move again. After that, they all headed around to the front of the house, where the managers and Ohashi-san were waiting for them. 

Banri and Tsumugi were very relieved and happy to see that all of their boys had returned safely. Ohashi-san reported that everyone had already let the hotel, not a single person was in there anymore, much to Riku’s relief. 

Yamato walked up to Ohashi-san, it seemed as if he had something to report. “While some of us were dealing with Urado, the rest managed to discover where he was storing all of his… leftovers.” He started. “The three people who went missing, Chiharu-san, Atsugi-san and Fukuda-san were all dead. Their throats had been slit and their bodies thrown into a pile on the ground.” He explained, a pained expression on his face. 

Ohashi-san nodded. “I see… Even if there’ll be no proper police investigation, I can now at least tell the families that they’re no longer here. That they don’t have to search for them anymore. Thank you for telling me.” He said, though his voice was trembling as he did. 

Yamato nodded. “On top of that,” Sougo spoke up. “There were hundreds of skeletal remains in that same room, all stacked up like trophies. I’m willing to bet that the two who went missing all those years ago were amongst them too.” He added. “So many people died in that house…” Nagi said sadly. 

Madoka clapped her hands together, getting everyone’s attention. “What happened here was indeed very sad, however, you boys will all need to move on. You got to see the truth about this case in a very intimate way, and I imagine it won’t all go away very easily. But dwelling on the horrible things that happened in the past will only hinder us. You should try and forget about this place, and all the pain it brought.” She said. 

The young idols all nodded. While it would probably take some time, they all agreed that it would be better not to carry the pain of those who perished in the Miyama mansion with them. Riku turned to Madoka. “What’s going to happen to this place now?” He asked. 

Madoka smiled and patted his shoulder. “You leave that to us. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s dealt with properly, so that Urado will never get to anyone ever again.” She reassured him. Riku smiled at her and nodded. 

After that, IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re;vale and ZOOL all said goodbye to Madoka and Ohashi-san before getting into their respective rides and leaving the hotel behind. On the way back to their dorms, Riku fell asleep curled up against Iori’s side. The warmth of his boyfriend comforting him and lulling him into a deep sleep. 

After a few days of rest, IDOLiSH7 was back to their normal routine. During the incident at the hotel, the only one who had really received any injuries was Riku, but luckily, none of them were serious at all. He had the small cut on his cheek from when Urado had used his nail to draw some blood, as well as some bruises on his upper arms and back, from the two spirits holding him down and slamming him against the wall. Because of this, he had received two extra days of rest compared to the rest of the group, and he wasn’t complaining. 

It had now been ten days since they had left the Miyama mansion, and everything was back to normal. All of IDOLiSH7 were sat on the floor in their training room at Takanashi Production, chatting their break away. Then, all of a sudden, there was the sound of someone’s phone going off. 

“I think that’s mine!” Riku exclaimed. He walked over and grabbed his bag, which was leaning against the wall close to the door. He fished out his phone and was a bit taken aback when he saw that he had two texts from Madoka. While they had exchanged numbers, neither one had contacted the other since leaving the mansion. At least not until now. 

Madoka had sent him two messages. One simply said, “It worked. Now it’s all over.” And the other was a link to an article. Riku opened it and immediately understood what Madoka had meant when she said that it was ‘all over’. _‘Old villa, recently turned hotel, burns to the ground in huge forest fire.’_ It said. 

Riku smiled and sent his reply to the medium, thanking her for letting him know and also asking if she would want to meet him for a coffee at some point. And that he had something he wanted to ask her about. With that, Riku put his phone back in his bag and rejoined the rest of his groupmates. He was truly relived that the whole situation with Urado had finally been resolved for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it, the end of this fanfic. Did you like it? I hope you did! I had a lot of fun writing and posting this fanfic, and I'm so so so happy that so many of you seemed to be excited for it as well! As you might have realized reading the ending, Riku will start getting lessons from Madoka! I might write more stories like this in the future, which is why I actually introduced Madoka in this fanfic, as a way to get Riku more into the supernatural world! If any of you would like this setting or these characters in a fanfic of your own, feel free to do so! But let me know, will you? I'd love to see if anyone makes anything based on this! ^^  
The case in this fanfic was, as I mentioned in the first chapter, inspired by the case titled "Bloodstained Labyrinth" in "Ghost Hunt", so if you want to check out the original, it's either volume 6 and 7 in the manga, or episode 18-21 in the anime! Thank you to all of you who have read this story! And an especially big thank you to all of you who left kudos, comments, bookmarks or who just supported me in any other way! Your support really means the world to me and I was so happy to recieve all of it! <3<3

**Author's Note:**

> I know this was really short, but it was just the prologue. I'll be back tomorrow with the first proper chapter, so stay tuned for that! Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! If you haven't already, maybe check out my previous works? Kudos and comments are much appreciated! 'Til next time! <3<3


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